Really interesting article in the most recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, described in this piece from Medical News Today. A recent study by the Northern California Cancer Center found that those patients who live in poorer neighborhoods have a significantly lower survival rate for follicular NHL. Chances of dying from the disease is about 37% higher, regardless of race or ethnicity, or stage of the disease. Speculation by the researchers is that they can't afford treatments, which makes a whole lot of sense.
And which is pretty sad, given all of the treatments that are out there for fNHL. I'm not going to pretend I understand the intricacies of the health care reform debate, and that I know what the best solution is, but I do know that a few people in the support group have lost their battles with cancer, and problems with adequate care are often a factor. It hits home. (Which isn't to say that everyone in the support group agrees on the solution for health care reform. Very contentious issue, even among people who otherwise have a pretty significant thing in common.)
I hope something gets done soon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment