Dr. Otis Brawley, Shares with Journalists “How We Do Harm”
Imagine being a physician in the midst of residency training, caring for an elderly patient who is terminally ill. The family tells you at each consultation to do everything possible to save their father. With the greatest medical technology at your disposal, you do your best to care for your patient and his family. There are machines to control heart rate and breathing and tubes to bring in food and remove wastes, so your patient lives more than a month longer than any physician would have expected. But were you true to your oath, “first do no harm”?
#HAWMC: Stream of Consciousness After TEDMED Day #3
After two extremely packed days at the TEDMED conference and absence from this series, today’s post continues the month-long series called the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge (#HAWMC) created by WEGO Health. Today’s writing prompt: Stream of Consciousness Day. Start with the sentence “_______”just write, don’t stop, don’t edit. Post! It’s been two awe-inspiring days of TEDMED2012 … Read more
Fighting Cancer? Be Armed with Red Grapes and Green Tea
Angio-what? Angiogenesis is a natural process in which the body generates blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of the body and remove carbon dioxide and other wastes. In this compelling talk Dr. William Li, a cancer researcher explains abnormal angiogenesis
enBloom Goes to the Carnival
After spending last week focusing on cancer awareness among minorities, I decided to submit one of those articles to the Cancer Research Blog Carnival. It was accepted. (Yeeeesssss!) It’s been five quiet months of blogging and now I just might be starting to make a friend or two out there. Each month Cancer Research presents what’s new and now from cancer biology, cancer genetics, cancer therapeutics to cancer diagnostics and patient care. Head on over to Highlight HEALTH and check out the 21st edition of this blog carnival which is the standard for all things cancer. Be sure to read all the articles, the Health Advocate is in such excellent company.
Cancer Risk, Ethnicity & Race: Is It All in the Genes
Two recently published cancer studies reveal differences in the severity of cancer (specifically breast and colorectal) between black Americans and other racial or ethnic populations are based in genetic variations. I think we should pause a moment and recognize that today is National DNA Day, an observance popular in K-12 education to recognize the day that the research scientists at NIH completed sequencing of the human genome. The knowledge gained from that tremendous endeavor has informed the physicians and scientists in countless labs since and the current findings in the disparities between the burden of illness suffered by blacks with breast or colorectal cancer tumors is no different.
15 Research Areas to Transform Health Care for the 21st Century
ARRA and You (Part IVb): Challenge Grant Research Priorities. Currently, science administrators at NIH are allocating grant funds favoring proposals that have a high impact in biomedical or behavioral science and/or public health. Invariably, the 15 areas of priority that NIH has identified will influence the heath sector for years, so I present and discuss them around the nature of this influence.
1. I’ll address Behavior, Behavioral Change and Prevention research first not only because it doesn’t fit neatly into the categories 1. that follow but also because prevention is the beginning of health care. The question: Which has the greatest impact on health and disease? Nature or nurture? Is an argument that may be as old as time, itself. (Okay, I exaggerate, but only a little). As scientist have forged ahead making great strides in their understanding of nature through the sequencing of the entire human genome and the burgeoning discipline of genomics which has sprung forth as a result. They continue to struggle to elucidate the factors that influence behavior. Since the main diseases that plague us today (think heart disease, diabetes and cancer) are exacerbated by our behavior, this path of inquiry is truly worthy. The aim of this research is to better understand the factors that influence behavior as well as the methods that have the most robust impact, changing behaviors to those that promote health and prevent disease. To date, prevention is still the most efficient and cost-effective option for alleviating the burden of suffering and disability brought on by disease. 1. We turn our attention to the highly debated Stem Cells. These are # simple, unspecialized cells in the embryo or adult which have the potential to become any specialized cell in a living organism under the chemical influence of specific compounds and hormones. The aim of this research is to better understand the abnormal structure or function that causes disease. Cells with normal structure and function can be generated to replace diseased cells, through the process of culturing or growing them in the laboratory.
# The area of Genomics aims to examine the entire DNA sequence (the instruction book, if you will, of all life processes) from the number of genes in a living organism to the function of specific genes. The goal is to see how they interact with one another and influence the biological processes of the body as a whole. Ultimately, genomics examines this genetic information to determine biological markers predisposing an individual to disease.
Prevention through biomedical interventions has progressed well through the first decade. In fact, these next six research disciplines operate in concert. I believe the application of these cutting-edge 21st century technologies will transform the way we diagnose and treat disease to a more personal and molecular level.
Three Ways the Recovery Act Will Influence Your Health Care Future
ARRA and You (Part IVa): Challenge Grant Research Priorities. The impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on the health sector is so broad ultimately, it will touch all our lives. From COBRA insurance premium assistance and funding to the states for Medicaid and SCHIP to improved funding for research in the health and biomedical sectors, there appears to be no area left unaffected by the comprehensive legislation. As part of the Recovery Act, NIH has designated no less than $200 million, in the upcoming fiscal year, to fund research in areas that “address specific scientific and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research.” Science administrators hope to take advantage of opportunities to fill gaps in knowledge, develop new technologies, refine research methods and generate data. These areas of priority to which challenge grant funds will be awarded will influence this sector for years to come in the following three ways.
Will Stem Cell Research Stimulate the Economy
Statistics serve only to confirm what we instinctively already knew, the Executive Order of 2001 which banned funding for embryonic stem cell research did not reflect the will of the people. (see fig. 7-18) Though we live in a representative democracy, the ignorance and fears of the minority should not overrule the cautious optimism of the majority.
HPV Vaccine: The Newest Tool in Fighting Cervical Cancer
First Fridays in First Person. In the following excerpt from a New YorkTimes article, Dr. Ben Daitz gives a personal account of treating patients with cervical cancer and the changing technologies available for prevention and earlier diagnosis…”Her face was ashen and her body cadaveric, and when I picked her up, she stared at me with hollow, dull eyes as her bones rubbed against my arms.”
