Author's posts
Screening elderly men for prostate cancer: More harm than good?
Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer don’t die of the disease. Between 2011 and 2015, 112.6 per 100,000 men per year were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the U.S., but only 19.5 per 100,000 men per year died of the disease over that same period of…
Should we start screening for colon cancer at age 45?
Here’s what most medical experts agree on: People 50 and older should be screened for colon cancer. Here’s what is more controversial: Whether that screening should start, routinely, at age 45. Recently, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommended th…
Generics aren’t going to help the cost of chemotherapy drugs
Chemotherapy drugs have become ridiculously expensive. Many new drugs come to market costing more than $100,000 per patient for a full course of treatment. Often, patients have to pay a significant portion of these costs. For example, a 20% co-insuranc…
How hospitals are taking advantage of the 340B Drug Pricing Program
Sometimes it is hard for hospitals to provide expensive care to poor patients. When a low-income patient needs $20,000 of chemotherapy, a hospital loses money if that patient cannot pay for the medicine, or pays through Medicaid, with its relatively st…
Sun exposure makes people both more and less likely to die of melanoma. How can that be?
Quick quiz question: two people are diagnosed with melanoma — Sarah Sunburn, an adamant sun-worshipper, and Paula Pale-All-The-Time, a fanatical sun-avoider. Who is more likely to die of the disease? The answer is pale-faced Paula. Surprised? Let…
