Category: WORK – EMPLOYMENT

Ending financial discrimination for cancer survivors: embedding the Right to be Forgotten in legislation across Europe

A new study published today in The Lancet Oncology highlights that many of the current 20 million cancer survivors across Europe are being discriminated against in accessing financial services, including loans, mortgages, health and travel insurance.

The work indicated that on average, up to 25% of those living beyond their cancer may be having more difficulty accessing appropriate financial services.

A European-wide effort is currently attempting to fight this discrimination, by supporting the introduction of legislation that will permit successfully treated cancer patients to not declare a previously diagnosed cancer, so that their diagnosis is essentially “forgotten”.
In January 2016, France became the first country in the world to introduce the “Right To Be Forgotten”, specifying that long-term cancer survivors do not have to share medical information with a financial institution about their cancer diagnosis after a delay of five years without recurrence. Seven other European countries have since taken similar legal measures to counter financial discrimination against cancer survivors. Other European Member States have chosen to implement self-regulatory codes of conduct (Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg), but these are not legally binding.

With over eight years of experience, evidence from France indicates no significant negative impact on insurance companies operating in the French jurisdiction.

Those who are living beyond their disease should not be penalised for a previous cancer diagnosis. Cancer patients across Europe who have been successfully treated should, by law, be able to avoid disclosing a previous diagnosis of cancer, so that they can access the financial services that they need.

Professor Lawler added: “This is not about compassion; this is about evidence and acting on that evidence. When a cancer professional says that you are cured and international benchmarking agrees, then why do the financial institutions say that you are not? Don’t make cancer patients pay twice. Ensure the Right To Be Forgotten is enshrined in law throughout Europe.”

Read the full study here: https://lnkd.in/e_PZHn_j

It’s never been more important to focus on cancer prevention

With an ageing population, cancer cases predicted to increase from 17 million to 30 million by 2040 and rising levels of overweight and obesity, it’s never been more important to focus on cancer prevention. Over 40% of cancers could be prevented if we all lived healthy lifestyles, including maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active and eating a healthy diet.

But what does this mean in practice? Every day we’re bombarded with information about what’s healthy and what isn’t. It can be confusing and seem contradictory: what’s missing is the context – how do all the disparate pieces fit together to make a coherent picture?

That’s where our Global Cancer Update Programme, formerly known as the Continuous Update Project, comes in. This huge undertaking pulls the puzzle pieces together to show how what we eat, what we weigh and how active we are all affect our risk of cancer. The Expert Paneloverseeing the process then use that information to develop Recommendations for Cancer Prevention.

A while back I wrote about how this work was moving into a new and exciting phase of development. This new phase has now started and the programme has changed in a number of ways. It’s more:

  • targeted – looking at specific research questions such as early life exposures and their impact on cancer risk later in life.
  • collaborative – to increase the reach and scope of the work a number of collaborations with leading international research groups will take place that focus on specific areas such as dietary patterns and the life course.
  • efficient – we are shifting from reviewing all risk factors for every cancer to systematically scanning the evidence to identify which topics are likely to be the most fruitful areas of detailed study. Integrating more automation into the review process will be central to this.
  • inclusive – in addition to looking at cancer prevention, the work will expand to encompass cancer survivors. With improved diagnosis and treatment the good news is that there is a growing population of people living with and beyond cancer. The Global Cancer Update Programme will help us to understand how diet, nutrition and physical activity can improve long-term health and prolong survival after a cancer diagnosis.

There are four major themes to the work:

1. Cancer incidence

Looking at how a wide range of factors relating to diet, nutrition and physical activity as well as patterns of diet and lifestyle can affect cancer risk – either through decreasing risk or increasing it.

2. Cancer survivors

Focusing on the impact of diet, nutrition and physical activity on long-term health (cancer and non-cancer related morbidity, mortality and quality of life) after a cancer diagnosis. As part of this, we will look to determine for the first time the impact of diet, nutrition and physical activity on childhood cancer survivors.

3. Cancer mechanisms

Understanding the biological processes that underpin the links between diet, nutrition and physical activity and cancer.

4. Obesity

Ensuring previous work in relation to overweight and obesity remains up to date, given its critical role in increasing the risk of many cancer types. In addition, we will explore whether more specific guidance can be made for preventing obesity in adulthood and early life.

This comprehensive programme of work will allow us to look more deeply at how diet, nutrition and physical activity affect cancer risk and survival. In the next few years, the Global Cancer Update Programme will enable a more sophisticated understanding, with a more personalised approach to cancer prevention and survival than ever before.

Find out more about our Global Cancer Update Programme

Cancer is on the rise in under-50s – a key task is to work out why

Nine in 10 of all cancers affect people over 50 but research shows a worrying rise in early onset cases

There are many upsides to growing old, but one of the downsides, unfortunately, is a higher risk of developing cancer. Increasing age is a key risk factor. And with more of us living longer worldwide, millions of older people will have to contend with the disease

Now a new study adds weight to previous work warning of a grim trend in global health: cancer in people under the age of 50 is becoming more common.

In the study, researchers led by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China, found that the number of under-50s being diagnosed with cancer worldwide rose by 79% between 1990 and 2019, from 1.82 million to 3.26 million. Cancer deaths in the same age group grew by 27%, and more than 1 million under-50s a year are now dying of cancer, the research published in BMJ Oncology reveals

The study is not the first to show the trend. A review in 2022 of cancer registry records from 44 countries found that the incidence of early onset cancer was rising rapidly for 14 types of cancers, and this increase was happening across many middle- and high-income nations.

The new research adds meat to the bone. Examining data from 204 countries, it found a striking increase in the global incidence of early onset cancers. It also showed the highest incidence rates of cancer in the under-50s was in North America, Oceania and western Europe.

Researchers worldwide are only just starting their next task: working out why.

The authors of the 2022 review, led by Harvard University, said any uptick in testing or checks could not account for the rise in diagnoses. They suggested the rise was most likely due to an unhealthy mix of risk factors that could be working together, some which are known and others of which need to be investigated.

Many of these risks had established links to cancer such as obesity, inactivity, diabetes, alcohol, smoking, environmental pollution and western diets high in red meat and added sugars, not to mention shift work and lack of sleep. Experts have speculated that ultra-processed food may also be partly to blame

The researchers behind the new study echoed those observations. Genetic factors are likely to have a role, they say. But diets high in red meat and salt and low in fruit and milk, as well as alcohol consumption and tobacco use, are the main risk factors underlying the most common cancers among under-50s, with physical inactivity, excess weight and high blood sugar other contributory factors.

As worrying as the increase in early onset cancers is, caution is required. Cancer in people under 50 is still uncommon. With breast cancer, the most common type in under-50s, there were 13.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2019. Nine in 10 of all cancers affect people over 50.

Until experts unlock definitive answers, there remains plenty that people young and old can do to reduce their risk of cancer. Not smoking, maintaining a balanced diet and a healthy weight, getting plenty of exercise and staying safe in the sun are among them.

 

Andrew GregoryHealth editor

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/05/cancer-is-on-the-rise-in-under-50s-a-key-task-is-to-work-out-why?utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=September+12+2023+Cancer+Today+E-newsletter&utm_term=Read+More+in+the+Guardian

How A.I. Could Help Medical Professionals Spend Less Time on Admin Work and More Time on Care

Some entrepreneurs are betting that generative A.I. tech like ChatGPT can provide a solution to the medical industry’s burnout crisis.

A survey of 1,000 Americans and 500 health care professionals conducted by Tebra–an all-in-one digital platform used by medical providers to manage their practices–showed that one in 10 providers is currently using A.I., while 50 percent of surveyed respondents signaled an intention to adopt the tech in the future, particularly in use cases involving data entry, appointment scheduling, and medical research.

Luke Kervin, Tebra’s founder, says that if A.I. can help providers to stave off burnout by increasing efficiency, saving costs, and allowing them to spend less time on admin work and more time helping people, it will likely see mass adoption by the industry. “When we talk to our providers about what keeps them up at night, it’s always burnout,” adds Kervin, “and a lot of that burnout comes from having so much admin work to do.”

Ironically, the advent of electronic medical records (EMRs) was meant to help physicians save time that had previously been spent maintaining analog health charts, but some practitioners are now spending an increasing amount of time behind the computer. Indeed, a 2017 study published in the Annals of Family Medicine found that in an 11.4-hour workday, physicians spent an average of nearly six hours on tasks related to administrative tasks, like data entry and inbox management, which contributed to their burnout.
Some solutions are already available, such as from Microsoft-owned A.I. business solutions provider Nuance. According to a case study, physicians at the Nebraska Medicine health system were frustrated with the time and effort required to complete patient notes, so Nuance provided an A.I.-powered voice recognition solution, allowing providers to fill out notes using just their voice. The change was a success, with 94.2 percent of surveyed physicians saying that the tech helped them to save time and do their job better.

Another company working on A.I.-powered solutions for both providers and patients is New York-based mental health employee benefits company Spring Health, which has raised nearly $400 million and attained a $2.5 billion valuation since its 2016 founding. Once a client has signed up for the service, they fill out a short assessment containing a series of questions about both their medical history and the current state of their mental health. The company’s machine-learning algorithm then crafts a personalized care plan that includes both wellness recommendations like daily routines, and specific recommendations for nearby mental health care providers.

Spring Health co-founder Adam Chekroud says that they’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of how automation could improve business for health care providers, adding that the company recently rolled out a new functionality that enables providers to “translate” their shorthand notes from patient meetings into full sentences with the use of a large language learning model.

Chekroud is also excited about the possibility of integrating chatbots as a way of helping people find providers who are a perfect fit for them, and described one prototype in development. “Our chatbot could ask, ‘Is there anything you want us to know that would help us find you a provider?’” According to Chekroud, the patient could answer with something like, “I’m very religious and I want a provider who could do faith-based treatment” or “I’m going through some gender identity issues and I want to have a provider that understands that.” The chatbot would then scan through the Spring Health network to surface providers with those desired traits.

A small number of providers are even beginning to use A.I. to help them make diagnoses by using tools such as Med-PaLM, Google’s large language model for medical information. But when it comes to using chatbots as virtual therapists, Chekroud is much less convinced. He concedes that generative A.I. is surprisingly capable of imitating empathy, “but we still have this fundamental problem that you’re talking to a robot. A robot can’t know what you’re going through. Nothing can replace that human connection.”

Πηγή: inc.com