Detecting Cancer Early… Really Early Early detection of cancer is the best way to beat it. Mammography, colonoscopy, PSA are screening tools that are detecting cancer early and saving lives as a result. What if a small blood draw could detect cancer before any lumps, spots or shadows showed up on a screening and before symptoms ever surfaced in a

A Tally on Most Favored Nation The public comment period on Medicare’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) model closed on January 26, 2021. Hundreds of individuals, medical organizations, patient advocacy groups and corporations submitted comments to the federal agency that sponsored the MFN proposed model. MFN would force a new, untested payment scheme for some of the most innovative, effective,

Medicine is About Relationships This month, Dr. Arjun Gupta, authored The Caregiver in The New England Journal of Medicine. His article is an insightful piece in which he shares his experience with Lara, the family caregiver of his patient, Ron. He perfectly expresses “at its core, oncology remains fundamentally about relationships — not just between patients and oncologists, but also

Cancer: Trends in the United States The American Cancer Society (ACS) compiles an annual report on population‐based cancer incidence. It shows trends in cancer by type, by gender, by age. ACS’s Cancer Statistics, 2021 was just released and although data lags behind the current year because of the time required for data collection, number crunching and quality review a promising

Patients, Physicians and Caregivers Speak with One Voice Against MFN When over 350 organizations representing patients, physicians and caregivers speak with one voice, Congress should listen carefully. This week, a diverse group of advocates from the Part B Access for Seniors and Physicians Coalition sent a letter to Congress warning of the devastating impacts that Medicare’s Most Favored Nation (MFN)

Most Favored Nation Will Devastate Cancer Care The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) weighed in with CMS and in 3 court cases to stop Medicare’s new Most Favored Nation policy, citing devastating consequences for people with cancer. Shockingly, ASCO analysis found the MFN policy “would drastically cut reimbursement for four immune checkpoint inhibitors commonly used to treat advanced and