What Caught Our Eye: Strengthening the ACA; the Harm of Medical Debt; Bone Symptoms After Treatment; and More

“Donald Trump Owns Obamacare Now”

Donald Trump owns Obamacare now https://t.co/9HwI0Ofltl

— Vox (@voxdotcom) August 7, 2017

Via Vox.com — We’ve spent months now watching Congress debate and decide the future of the Affordable Care Act. Sometimes, we’ve even done so until 2 am, spending a very late night with C-SPAN. Congress has had, since January, control over the health law’s fate. Legislators got to propose, debate, and (in the House) pass bills that would repeal and replace Obamacare. But for the next few months, I’m going to spend significantly less time watching Congress — and significantly more watching the executive branch.
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“Bipartisan Health Policy Coalition Urges Congress to Strengthen the ACA”

Bipartisan health-policy coalition urges Congress to strengthen the ACA https://t.co/eH7FscST2G

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 9, 2017

Via Washington Post — An unlikely coalition of liberal and conservative health-policy leaders is calling on Congress to strengthen the existing health-care law in a variety of ways to help Americans get and keep insurance. The group is urging the government, in particular, to continue paying all the federal subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act and to help Americans enroll in coverage.
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“Widowed Early, A Cancer Doctor Writes About Harm of Medical Debt”

Widowed Early, A Cancer Doctor Writes About The Harm Of Medical Debt https://t.co/IrNs5rvPKs

— NPR Health News (@NPRHealth) August 10, 2017

Via NPR Health — Ten years ago, Fumiko Chino was the art director at a television production company in Houston, engaged to be married to a young Ph.D. candidate. Today, she’s a radiation oncologist at Duke University, studying the effects of financial strain on cancer patients. And she’s a widow.
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“Chair Yoga for My Funny Bones”

Read the latest from our friend Susan Gubar's Living w/ #Cancer series: "Chair Yoga for My Funny Bones" @nytimeswell https://t.co/YNSPMk3Wf3

— NCCS – National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (@CancerAdvocacy) August 11, 2017

From Susan Gubar’s “Living with Cancer” series, New York Times Well Blog — A year and a half ago, I had no idea that cancer treatments put patients at risk for osteoporosis or that one could do something about it.

After a fall on invisible ice resulted in pelvic fractures, I simply assumed that at 71 I had arrived a tad early in little-old-lady-land. Only medical appointments appeared on my calendar. After lacing my thick-soled shoes and straightening my wig, I got to the hospital by grasping the nearby walker which my stepdaughter had decorated with bling: purple and red plastic streamers.The oncologist took one look and sent me for a bone density test and then to Dr. Theresa A. Guise, a specialist in bone disease at Indiana University.
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“Can a ‘Liquid Biopsy’ Detect Cancer and Save Lives?”

Can a "liquid biopsy" detect cancer and save lives? @sxbegle truth-squads the latest claims. https://t.co/6dqPF9JCjG pic.twitter.com/qa94MQGEBC

— STAT (@statnews) August 9, 2017

Via Stat News — A blood test can detect DNA associated with nasopharyngeal cancer in seemingly healthy people, leading to earlier diagnosis and saving lives, researchers in Hong Kong reported on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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“Colon Cancer Rates Rising Among Younger White Adults—And Falling Among Blacks”

Rates of colorectal cancer among adults under 55 and the number of deaths among that age group are rising. https://t.co/L5Aj8lrhNL pic.twitter.com/I3gWuRiXau

— Kaiser Health News (@KHNews) August 8, 2017

Via Kaiser Health News — When Crawford Clay discovered blood on his shorts at the end a routine run in the spring of 2014, he did not know the stains were a symptom of a condition that also afflicted his family.
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