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Cancer in America Is Way Down, For the Wealthy Anyway (bloomberg.com)
The good news is that cancer in America was beaten back over the 25 years ending 2016, with death rates plummeting, particularly when it comes to the four most common types of the dreaded affliction. From a report: There's a caveat, however. Those gains have been reaped mostly by the well-off. While racial disparities have begun to narrow, the impact of limited access to treatment for the poorest Americans has increased wealth-based inequality, according to the American Cancer Society's annual update on trends and statistics. "Any time you have a disease as serious as cancer, when you have a substantial reduction in deaths, that's a notable achievement," said Len Lichtenfeld, the interim chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "But there are still a lot of areas for improvement."
Health insurance and access to care can be an issue in some poor and rural portions of the country, where there are higher death rates of colon, cervical and lung cancers, according to Cancer Statistics 2019. While poverty was actually associated with lower rates of cancer mortality prior to the 1980s, that trend has since reversed, due in part to changes in diet and smoking as well as screening and treatment rates, the health organization said.
Health insurance and access to care can be an issue in some poor and rural portions of the country, where there are higher death rates of colon, cervical and lung cancers, according to Cancer Statistics 2019. While poverty was actually associated with lower rates of cancer mortality prior to the 1980s, that trend has since reversed, due in part to changes in diet and smoking as well as screening and treatment rates, the health organization said.
I suppose "Cancer death rates plummeting" might not have generated quite as many clicks.
Come on, editors. You're better than this.
One group with low rates of cancers are people who work in the nuclear industry or on navy ships. They don't have shocking better healthcare plans than most middleclass folks so it may not just be wealth buying better health care. One guess is that by the nature of the work they are industrious people self selected to have otherwise healthy lifestyles but even studies trying to control for that still find lower cancer rates. Another possibility of course is that low level nuclear radiation is good for you. Since life evolved in a higher radiation level environment than today, it might not be shocking if multi-cellular animals figured out some way to differentially profit from radiation over their single cell parasites. But that's a stretch too. An even more likely hypothesis is apparently nuclear material environments actually are less toxic than others. That too would not be surprising since Nuclear is all about safety and avoiding accidents so hazards are controlled carefully. A final hypothesis remaining is that it's not that bad for you in low doses compared to the variability in life itself.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I have a friend who works in oncology (he is a surgeon). He basically said that immunotherapy is incredible, and within 5 years he believes that those with enough money will be treated for many types of cancer by customised immunotherapy. They will go in every two weeks and a team will adjust the therapy based on the cancer's response until the cancer is gone. Add to this the work being done on early detection, and cancer could soon become nothing more than a strain on your bank account.
Everyone else will continue to get cut, burn and poison. Having said that, this is how the economy has always progressed, and in 20 years when patents have run out and the treatments have become more mature, we can all look forward to this sort of thing.
Certainly an exciting time to be alive.
Wow, you have got to be kidding me! Canada? Yup, they have it right. Just like my friends Grandma who was told by the very same Canadian health care system: Yes you have cancer, but according to the Canadian government you're too old to start treatments. Here is a bunch of pain pills. Please go home and die, and that is just what she did.
Oh it's the evil insurance companies... wait it's the evil doctors making all the money, uh it's the evil.... Government. In Canada the one stop shop for your medical needs. Can't blame anyone else.
Yes this is a true story. You should see my friend deliver it. You would be a bit bitter too if this is how your Grandma was treated.
And highly trained medical staff shouldn't be forced into slavery, to take care of every health issue for people who can't or won't pay anything for it.
If only there was some other entity that would pay those medical staff. You know, like the single-payer system in virtually every other developed country. Then it wouldn't be slavery.
Honestly, I'm tired of people going on, constantly, about equality in America, as though it's something we're obligated to try to achieve, or even a worthy goal?
Inequality is inefficient. You don't get the "best and brightest", you get the richest and most-connected. And >90% of the time, those rich people got their wealth from their parents, so they're not actually good at anything.
For example, Trump. His dad made a crapload of money in NY real estate, because he was good at it. Trump has lost enormous amounts of money in NY real estate because he isn't any good at it. That's why he was on a TV show instead of doing more real estate.
it's really all about giving people a framework of opportunities to better THEMSELVES, if they wish to make the effort.
What you fail to understand is the effort to benefit from that framework is not equal. The wealthy give their children many advantages that put them ahead within that framework. Again, this means we get massive inefficiency because the person didn't actually make the effort, mom and dad bought their place. So they don't know what the hell they are doing and go bankrupt running a casino. Twice.
Between doctors and dentists who willingly volunteer some of their time to provide these services
The last Doctors without Borders event in the US had a line about 3x longer than they could serve. Many were turned away. Charity will not get this done.
Also, did ya notice the irony of bemoaning "medical professionals working for free" at the start of your post, and "medical professionals working for free" as your preferred solution?
Finally, Medicaid doesn't cover an enormous swath of uninsured people, thanks to Republicans blocking Medicare expansion from the ACA. Which means they don't get any insurance coverage and thus no medical treatment beyond Emergency Rooms.....which means you are paying a shitload more money in insurance premiums and taxes because the poor can't get preventative care.
Single-payer is much cheaper than our current system. You would save a hell of a lot of money. Your taxes would go up, but your insurance premiums would disappear. Netting you a lot more in each paycheck. I don't know about you, but I really don't care if the deduction on my paycheck is labeled "Cigna premium" or labeled "Medicare". But some of those people might not suffer enough for your liking.
Cancer treatment is HUGELY expensive, though - to the point where many insurance policies even put a "cap" on the amount they'll spend for it over your lifetime
Nope. One of the things the ACA eliminated was lifetime caps.
You can't just demand America provide the "best care possible" to everybody
Sure we can. Every other developed nation pulls it off. Are you saying we can't do what the Canadians can?