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Radiation is a core part of cancer treatment, and has been for generations. But over the last couple of years, there’s been a surge of interest in a new type of treatment, one that is testing drug developers and health care practitioners alike. (DeAngelis, 12/2)

About a third of cancer patients struggle with depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders, although these conditions often go undetected and undiagnosed. ... Mental health has long been deprioritized, with health care centers losing money caring for psychiatric patients. But this neglect comes at a significant cost, with mortality rates up to 39% higher among cancer patients with depression when compared to those without mental illness. Research also shows that the risk of suicide is 13 times higher in the week following a cancer diagnosis — and three times the average even a year later. (Bajaj, 11/29)

On the count of three, Governor Maura Healey and Brown University Health chief executive John Fernandez unfurled the banner outside St. Anne’s Hospital. The old sign reading “Steward Family Hospital” was covered by a spiffy new BrownHealth logo. The ceremony in November marked the $175 million handoff of St. Anne’s and Morton Hospital in nearby Taunton to Rhode Island’s largest health care system. (Weisman, 12/2)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Homebound Seniors Living Alone Often Slip Through Health System’s Cracks

Carolyn Dickens, 76, was sitting at her dining room table, struggling to catch her breath as her physician looked on with concern. “What’s going on with your breathing?” asked Peter Gliatto, director of Mount Sinai’s Visiting Doctors Program.“I don’t know,” she answered, so softly it was hard to hear. “Going from here to the bathroom or the door, I get really winded. I don’t know when it’s going to be my last breath.” (Graham, 12/2)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Who Gets Obesity Drugs Covered By Insurance? In North Carolina, It Helps If You’re On Medicaid

After losing and regaining the same 20-plus pounds more times than she could count, Anita Blanchard concluded that diets don’t work. So when the University of North Carolina-Charlotte professor learned that Ozempic — developed to treat Type 2 diabetes — helped people lose weight and keep it off, Blanchard was determined to try it. The state employee’s health insurance initially covered the prescription with Blanchard kicking in a $25 copayment. (Newsome, 12/2)

Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed what’s being considered "a groundbreaking coating" that could make medical devices safer. For millions of patients, this could mean reducing the risk of thrombosis (or blood clot formation) and dangerous bleeding, according to a UBC press release. The new material, which is designed for tubing in various medical devices, mimics the "natural behavior of blood vessels." (Stabile, 11/30)

Siemens Healthineers launched two new, more affordable photon-counting CT scanners on Dec. 1. The new models come three years after the company introduced its Naeotom Alpha, which was the first commercially available photo-counting CT available for clinical use. Photon-counting CT can produce higher-resolution images by counting each X-ray photon that travels through the patient and generating anatomical and functional information. It requires lower radiation doses than traditional CT and can detect small structures with fewer artifacts. (Dubinsky, 12/1)