Analysis: In war against cancer, progress is in the eye of the beholder

To match feature USA-HEALTHCARE/TEXASNEW YORK (Reuters) – As the United States enters the fifth decade of its "war on cancer," deaths continue to decline, according to an exhaustive report based on official data released on Monday. But that doesn't tell the whole story, say experts not involved in the report from the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and other groups on progress against cancer since the 1970s. The improvements reflect such lifestyle changes as not smoking more than they do the billions of dollars spent to discover and implement advanced cancer treatments. …

Racial gaps in access to robotic prostate surgery

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Minority and Medicaid cancer patients are less likely to have their prostates removed at hospitals that use robot-assisted surgery, according to a new study that stops short of suggesting the robotic technique represents better care. “People who are poor – frequently Hispanic, African American or black, and Medicaid patients – tend to get what is considered to be less high-quality care than those who are middle class and wealthy,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society. …

Wait longer between Pap tests, ob-gyns say

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Most women can wait three to five years between Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer, according to guidelines released Monday by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The recommendations fall in line with two separate sets of guidelines released earlier this year – one by the American Cancer Society and other medical groups, and another from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-backed panel. All of the new recommendations mark a further shift away from annual Pap testing, which was once the standard advice. …

Exercise, even mild physical activity, may reduce breast cancer risk

( Wiley-Blackwell ) A new analysis has found that physical activity – either mild or intense and before or after menopause – may reduce breast cancer risk, but substantial weight gain may negate these benefits. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings indicate that women can reduce their breast cancer risk by exercising and …

1 2