Health
KC Panel: Virus Associated With Cervical Cancer Also Endangers Men
Discussions about the dangers of the human papillomavirus (HPV) tend to focus on the risks it poses for cervical cancer. But as physicians and one local survivor emphasized in a discussion after the screening of a documentary shown Wednesday in Kansas City, HPV is not only a danger to women.
The Fight Against Cervical Cancer is Winnable. So Why Is Kansas Losing?
If all it took were a few shots to virtually eliminate the chances of contracting one type of cancer, you’d think at-risk people would be lining up for treatment in droves. There is, in fact, a three-dose regimen that experts say essentially prevents cervical cancer, which is newly diagnosed in more than 12,000 American women…
KC Checkup: Four Questions for Danette Wilson
Danette K. Wilson took over as president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City in January, taking the reins from David Gentile, who stepped down for health reasons.
A compass for cancer: how one patient navigator makes a difference
When Consuelo Ross was diagnosed with breast cancer, she hid in a dark room for three days. She had lost her husband to a motorcycle accident two years before, and she was the mother of two young children. A breast cancer diagnosis — the same disease that had killed her mother years before — felt…
Health Care Expert Says Changes Are Afoot For Medicare And Medicaid
The public should expect to see significant evolutions in Medicare and Medicaid in coming years, a national health care expert told a Kansas City audience Friday.
‘Housing first’ model creates a place to stay
In the post-institutionalization era of mental health treatment in America, the usual model of support for people with mental illness is temporary hospitalization and treatment following a psychotic episode, then a temporary stay in “transitional housing” before patients are expected to obtain and secure housing on their own in the private market. But some advocates think that creates dangerous instability for some people with severe and persistent mental illness. The antidote, they say, is an open-ended place to stay that allows people with a mental illness to get comfortable with their surroundings and fall into a routine that makes them better able to manage their conditions.
Putting A Price Tag On The Chase For Cancer-Fighting Excellence
Over a span of a dozen years, the University of Kansas Cancer Center estimates that philanthropists, taxpayers and other funders will plow about $1.3 billion into its effort to become one of the nation’s most elite cancer-fighting institutions.
Cancer superheroes: KC survivors share their stories
“I named my tumor Walt. Humor = tool.” “2-0, baby. No rematch, please.” “Cancer is a word. Not a sentence.” “Overcoming physical, social, economic, emotional hurdles.” “Wonder when it will win.” These short narratives are just a handful of the many our newsroom received from community members describing their experience with cancer. As part of…
How canine cancer patients help sick people
If you have cancer and your dog has cancer, it turns out you may be treated with the exact same drugs. An innovative initiative at the University of Missouri combines traditional cancer research and care with veterinary medicine. This benefits our canine friends and, ultimately, human cancer patients. Dr. Carolyn Henry, a veterinary oncologist at…
Bringing cancer treatments to rural Kansas
A cancer diagnosis is often the beginning of a life-or-death struggle. Patients want to go into that fight armed with the most powerful weapons available. In many cases, that involves treatments still in their experimental stages that are only available through clinical trials, which are typically found at academic medical centers. But the University of Kansas Cancer Center has created a partnership to bring those options closer to home for rural Kansans.