Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Younger Generations At Greater Risk Of Developing Cancer Than Baby Boomers
Generation X and millennials are at an increased risk of developing certain cancers compared with older generations, a shift that is probably due to generational changes in diet, lifestyle and environmental exposures, a large new study suggests. In a new study published Wednesday in the Lancet Public Health journal, researchers from the American Cancer Society reported that cancer rates for 17 of the 34 most common cancers are increasing in progressively younger generations. (Bever, 7/31)
A new study published in JAMA Oncology followed more than 650,000 women with breast cancer in one breast for up to 20 years and found that women who underwent double mastectomy were less likely to develop cancer in the other breast, but didn't live any longer, on average, than women who didn't undergo double mastectomy. In other words, women who had a lumpectomy or a mastectomy on the affected side but kept their other breast did just as well from a survival benefit as women who had both breasts removed. They say this may not apply to women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes which puts them at much higher risk of breast cancer. (Marshall, 7/31)
In President Biden鈥檚 address to the nation after dropping out of the election race, he said he would 鈥渒eep fighting for my Cancer Moonshot.鈥 He will, at least, for his remaining six months in office. Biden鈥檚 impending exit from the political stage leaves uncertainty hanging over the future of this signature health initiative, which Biden began first as vice president under Barack Obama and later renewed as president. (Chen, 8/1)
On the hack of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's cancer records 鈥
A 34-year-old man was convicted Wednesday of illegally accessing the private medical data of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2019 but acquitted of posting the information to an online message board where conspiracists falsely claimed Democratic politicians were covering up her death. Trent J. Russell testified in his own defense near the end of a two-day trial in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., repeatedly asserting that he never viewed or posted the justice鈥檚 confidential medical information, which showed details of her cancer treatments at George Washington University Hospital. (Rizzo, 7/31)
