Study: Uninsured More Likely to Die From Cancer

[usregimechange]

THURSDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) -- People diagnosed with cancer who don't have health insurance are more likely to die because they are less likely to get screening tests and so are typically diagnosed with advanced disease, a new study from the American Cancer Society finds.

The finding proffers strong evidence that differences in cancer survival are directly related to lack of access to health care.

"If you are uninsured, and you are diagnosed with cancer, you have a 60 percent greater chance of dying from cancer than if you were insured and diagnosed with cancer," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the cancer society.

"There is not a cohort of insured and a cohort of uninsured cancer patients that have the same five-year survival," Brawley added. "It's always the uninsured who do worse."
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_59186.html


Report Links Health Insurance Status With Cancer Care
Article date: 2007/12/20

Uninsured Americans are less likely to get screened for cancer, more likely to be diagnosed with an advanced stage of the disease, and less likely to survive that diagnosis than their privately insured counterparts, according to a new American Cancer Society report examining the impact of health insurance status on cancer treatment and survival.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Repo...With_Cancer_Care.asp


FIGURE 10 Cancer Survival by Insurance Status

http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/CA.2007.0011v1/FIG10

Universal health care now!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Well, duh. Ya think?

[fenriswolf]

2. hehe exactly what i was thinking when i saw the headline

[silverojo]

6. Me, too

As if there's any question that leaving cancer untreated makes it worse....

[usregimechange]

3. But I am thinking we tatoo it to their foreheads to assist.

[OzarkDem]

9. American Cancer Society has allowed our leaders to think otherwise

Dr. Brawley is now shoving the truth in their faces. He's not going to give them the same old line of ACS happy talk about fruits and vegetables solving the cancer crisis in this country. For too long, no one pushed Congress or the states to do something about the problem. Its a different game now.

I have a great deal of contempt for ACS and their practices, but Dr. Brawley's appointment may just make them start doing the right thing instead of sitting on their asses collecting fat paychecks.

I've been acquainted with him before he took the new job and if they don't follow his lead I hope he tells them to get lost.

[panader0]

4. It's not just cancer, or even just medicine.

Even with the legal system, the rich are more likely to "beat the rap". Money buys justice and health.

[aquart]

5. This government is killing Americans in so many ways.

That's NOT what it's for.

[OzarkDem]

7. Otis Brawley Rocks!

He's the new chief medical officer at American Cancer Society - an organization that traditionally sucks when it comes to cancer advocacy.

Dr. Brawley will focus more on access to health care, but I hope he gets ACS off their bias towards screening. Access to screening doesn't mean beans unless people have access to affordable cancer treatment.

And therein lies the problem - most uninsured people get free screening for cancer, but are left hanging if they're diagnosed (too expensive to treat, right?)

Dr. Brawley also knows that uninsured people face much longer delays in getting treatment once they're diagnosed and when they do get treatment, its often not as good as insured people get.

My favorite Otis Brawley quote about access to health care for cancer patients: "Some leaders don't mind throwing people overboard in the health care crisis. It doesn't bother them as long as they don't hear the splash."

Go kick some ass, Dr. Brawley..

[liberalmuse]

8. Oh shit.

While that isn't surprising, it's devastating to see that graph. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple weeks ago. She has no insurance except Medicare, and that's a total crock. I'm stunned at how many women are getting breast cancer--too goddamned many. She's the first in our family to get it. Bush has set us back so far, and his policies have slowed down any gains we could have made with cancer funding and research in the past several years. I was shocked when my mom's tumor turned out to be malignant, then I was angry, because I know if she had insurance, it would have been caught earlier. Her cancer has spread and it doesn't look good. She's religious, she isn't going to get chemo. She seems to think Jesus will heal her, so she can once and for all show her atheist daughters that her god does exist. He doesn't. In the meantime, I don't know what to do except be there for her. We haven't gotten along all that well over the years, mostly because she is a fundie who likes to push her religion down people's throats, but she's my mom, and she could die soon. This is America, "The greatest country in the world", but people die of diseases because they don't have the money to get decent health care. It breaks my heart. This is so very wrong.

[OzarkDem]

10. Advocate for her and make sure she gets good care

PM me if you want some help knowing how to go about making sure she is getting the gold standard of care. It will be covered by Medicaid and some providers will take good care of her regardless of her coverage, but you need to make sure. Some will cut corners.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

11. I think that our business and government leaders want it this way.

I think they want to "cull the herd". Get rid of the undesirables. Use death as the new "poor house".

Convince me I am wrong. I dare you.

[HughMoran]

12. No, you're right

Heck, even poor blowhards who see people in their poor neighborhoods die more often than well off people think this way. It's the American way - lie and let die! I wish I could use the sarcasm thingie here, but only a cynical smiley would do.

[B Calm]

15. That and they want us desperate. The more desperate we are, the

cheaper we'll work to keep from starving.

[bluerum]

13. Well shit. Someone needed a study to figure that out? For the love of

Jesus H. Christmas Jones.

At least it is quantified and they put numbers on survival probabilities.

[B Calm]

14. As long as this country has REPUBLICANS, it will continue to be screwed

up until we all die from lack of health care, global warming storms and earthquakes the REPUBLICANS caused. Have I said today how much I hate these FUCKING WAR MONGERING CORPORATE ASS KISSING REPUBLICANS!

[usregimechange]

16. kick