Hannover Re’s Post

Looking to increase breast cancer screenings? Check out this new systematic review from The Community Guide that shows patient navigation services to increase breast cancer screening & advance health equity are cost-effective! The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends these interventions to increase screenings among historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic populations and people with lower incomes. Read the latest evidence: https://lnkd.in/g3fZRM4T

Most of us have no idea that a very small group of Canadians with no breast cancer screening expertise hold power over our well-being. The group that makes breast screening guidelines in Canada has no breast cancer screening experts and prefers to ignore what experts have to say. Our current breast screening guidelines, made with a kidney specialist in charge, are based on studies that took place before man landed on the moon. Modelling has shown thousands of avoidable deaths since the harmful recommendations were implemented. While the Liberal government ordered an update to be published this fall and is hoping for better breast screening guidelines, we are deeply concerned and skeptical this will happen. One reason for the skepticism is that the Task Force co-chair publicly stated to the media that she sees no reasons why our guidelines should change. That would mean all current evidence showing the benefits of screening will continue to be ignored while the Task Force continues to use flawed, outdated studies to negate the benefits of screening. It is very clear to breast cancer screening experts that the evidence shows that screening saves lives. Will our Task Force follow the science or continue to implement an anti-screening stance? Please read and share Dense Breasts Canada's co-founder Jennie Dale's Op-Ed in The Hill Times. Please consider a quick email to Health Minister Mark Holland simply reminding him of the government's duty to protect the well being of its citizens. hcminister.ministresc@hc-sc.gc.ca If we don't use our voices now, it may soon be too late. Read the Op-Ed here https://lnkd.in/g96T8nAW Thank you.

What are the urgent challenges in #BreastCancer? Professor Charlotte Coles, the Deputy Head of Cambridge's Department of Oncology, has led The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission, looking at the reasons why many people with breast cancer are being ‘systematically left behind’. Despite major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, inequalities mean that many women worldwide still experience significant suffering related to physical symptoms, emotional despair, and financial burden. #BreastCancer #CambridgeResearch #CambridgeUniversity #UniversityOfCambridge #Cambridge #CancerCare

📑New research on disparities in #cervicalcancer screening rates: lower income regions have significantly lower cervical cancer screening rates and higher rates of #cancer burden. These findings, featured in Cancer Network and presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology 2024 Annual Meeting, are a key first step to reducing disparities. Part of the solution is patient activation. When people know what their health risks are and what next steps to take, they are more likely to get regular screenings. At Phreesia, we’ve seen this up close: tailored initiatives aimed to educate patients can close these disparities in health outcomes. We have a lot to do to address disparities in cancer screenings, but empowering people with information is a great first step. #CloseTheCareGap https://lnkd.in/eN92fUG8

A recent piece in The Wall Street Journal reports: Cancer is hitting more young people in the U.S. and around the globe, baffling doctors. Diagnosis rates in the U.S. rose in 2019 to 107.8 cases per 100,000 people under 50, up 12.8% from 95.6 in 2000, federal data show. A study in BMJ Oncology last year reported a sharp global rise in cancers in people under 50, with the highest rates in North America, Australia and Western Europe. “I didn’t really think that much about cancer until I got it,” shared cancer patient Meilin. “It messes with your identity.” While these reports are staggering — it underscores the importance of the support that these patients need, which oftentimes includes addressing their fertility health before (and after) treatment. And thanks to medical breakthroughs, it also means that their likelihood of surviving is higher, too — highlighting how their ‘post-cancer’ life is deserving of immense care as well. So let’s continue to push for change, both on a local and national level — and ensure that oncofertility care is right up there with cancer treatment care and education. Everyone deserves to have a choice when it comes to their future health: https://lnkd.in/eXP-RWvY

#SpeakingofScience: A recent study has found disparities in the use of palliative care for #metastatic #breastcancer among different racial groups. Black, Hispanic, and Asian patients have lower odds of receiving #palliativecare compared to White patients. However, Hispanic and Asian patients exhibit better overall survival rates than White patients, regardless of palliative care usage. These insights, presented at the 2023 AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, highlight the need to improve access to and utilization of palliative care services for all breast cancer patients to achieve the best outcomes possible. #MetastaticBreastCancerAwarenessDay #cancerawareness #cancercare #cancerresearch #cancertreatment https://lnkd.in/gMxWx9jE

How can Intuitive support the fight against the fourth most prevalent cause of cancer? This will be the focal point of the Thoracic Connect: Lung cancer claims more lives each year than colon, breast, pancreas, and prostate cancers combined. It is estimated that, in EU-27 countries in 2020, lung cancer accounted for 11.9% of all new cancer diagnoses (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). The #ThoracicConnectUp23 will explore the leading edge capacities of the Ecosystem of Intuitive: integrated systems, software, and services bringing meaningful innovation to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and overall care of patients with lung cancer. Physicians and care teams will engage with peers, connect with thought leaders and share the latest insights in the fast-changing world of minimally invasive lung cancer care with the da Vinci technology. #LungCancerAwareness  #ThoracicConnectUp23 #weareintuitive #davincisurgery

Addressing the three R's -- resources, research, and racism -- are critical to making meaningful moves toward #healthequity in #cancercare. bit.ly/3IEJzV8 #healthdisparities #cancer #clinicaltrials #oncology #cancertreatment #SDOH #ClinicalResearch #healthcare

Understanding the costs associated with cancer is vital in order that resources are used for maximum effect. And investing in prevention and early intervention is critical if we are going to reduce the emotional and physical impact of cancer on individuals, families, friends and those that care for people with cancer. Calculating the health care and wider costs of cancer - as well as assessing the cost-effectiveness of prevention, early intervention and treatment - is a fundamental challenge faced by decision makers across the health and social care system. The costs of cancer can be felt at an individual level: work by Macmillan has shown that most (83%) cancer patients incur an average cost of £570 per month as a result of their illness. It can also be felt in the national economy: Oxford University estimate the cost of cancer to the economy is £7.6 billion a year due to premature deaths and time taken off work. Costs and the health system The Independent Cancer Taskforce Report (ICTR) set out the need for there to be clearer accountability of spend on cancer and emphasised the need for action in prevention and early diagnosis to reduce the longer term burden on the health system. It says: “The National Audit Office has estimated cancer services cost the NHS approximately £6.7bn per annum in 2012/13. The Five Year Forward View projections indicate that this will grow by about 9% a year, implying a total of £13bn by 2020/21.” Recommendation 95 in the strategy specifically asks that: “NHS England and Public Health England should work with Monitor and other bodies to consider how to develop better health economic evaluation of new service models and interventions.” We have a dedicated health economics team that commissions work to assess the economic impact of prevention and early intervention, and an example of this is recent work on bowel cancer in direct response to Taskforce Recommendation 95. This work has summarised the available cost-effectiveness evidence. Cost-effectiveness is a key concept in health economics and is concerned with the value we get from the money spent – where value is often expressed in terms of improving both survival and quality of life. For instance if we invested resources in the best possible way in bowel cancer then we would see improvements in survival, and also improvements in the quality of life of individuals who are staged earlier and therefore do not suffer the more unpleasant effects of treatment that could potentially be avoided. This is why a ‘return on investment’ (RoI) type approach has been followed in this work: how do we make sure that resources are invested in such a way that we achieve health gains at the same time as avoiding health care and other system costs further down the line.

Data insights can lead to life-saving innovation for healthcare professionals and patients. In the case of breast cancer treatment, data insights were used to develop a decision-support tool that helps patients understand what to expect from their chosen course of treatment. https://loom.ly/iUVJunI #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth #breastcancerawareness #BCAM #healthcare #data