A federal court blocked a recent move of the Bush administration to allow Medicare to only pay for the least expensive treatment available without regard to the medical issues. The administration saw instituting this limitation as a way to cut costs to the financially strapped Medicare Program. The court decided that congress sets the Medicare [...]
Imagine these headlines in your local newspaper: JUMBO JET CRASHES KILLING ALL – 1,000 PEOPLE DIE! The front pages of all of our newspapers would scream about this massive tragedy of “epic proportions.” Now imagine that that a jumbo jet crashes and kills everyone on board every two weeks for an entire year. Every two [...]
U.S. News and World Review, in their HealthDay section reported an interesting aspect of the continuing debate about treatment vs. “watchful waiting” (active surveillance). The article, written by Karen Pallarito “Rethinking Prostate Cancer in Older Men” suggests aggressive treatment is viable, even for patients in their late 70s! Her premise, that increasing life expectancies, improved [...]
Have you thought about how your vote might lead to better cancer treatments, research funding and prevention programs? Tomorrow, Tuesday, you can listen to a conversation among cancer care advocates about the upcoming U.S. presidential election and what your vote could mean for us prostate cancer survivors. Topics will include healthcare plans, environmental protection and [...]
The presidential campaign season is now officially upon us and we are being besieged by both political parties as they ask for our financial support and our vote. When you consider which of the candidates to support you should factor into your decision their plans about cancer. Both of the presidential campaigns have released plans [...]
I have returned from the PCRI conference in LA. As the prior conferences, it was an excellent meeting designed for us, the nonprofessional. The range of speakers and the topics covered all had immediate and direct implications for us survivors, our spouses and partners. Over the course of the next few weeks, I am going [...]
When we are diagnosed with prostate cancer, especially with recurrent prostate cancer, we shoulder the emotional burden of telling our loved ones. This burden comes at the very same moment that we too are managing our own emotional response to the news. When diagnosed, we face an uphill emotional battle. At the exact time we [...]
The following press release is from the Press Office of the White House. National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to underscore our commitment to fighting prostate cancer and to raise awareness about this highly treatable disease. Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer found in men, and one in six [...]
On August 9, Skip Ciccarelli, a 60-year-old prostate cancer survivor arrived at New York City’s Manhattan Kayak Company, located at Pier 66. He was greeted by almost nobody and without any representatives of the press to cover the end of his journey! Ciccarelli arrival at Pier 66 having completed his Olympian type marathon. His arrival [...]
In addition to the three cancers, I also have an arthritic condition. My rheumatologist has prescribed certain medications that require regular monitoring for liver damage, so every six weeks I go into the lab to have a complete blood panel along with my PSA. Included in the blood panel are also some kidney screens. One [...]
