Breast cancer screenings and AI may protect against heart disease, new study suggests

Routine mammograms can “flag the risk of heart disease,” according to a new study in the European Heart Journal.

A recent story by Carolyn Y. Johnson in The Washington Post confirms that information. It also notes that radiologists for decades “have observed that breast cancer screening scans also reveal calcium deposits in the arteries woven through breast tissue, which cause the blood vessels to stiffen.”

According to Johnson, the study shows “how artificial intelligence [AI] can be used…to turn this ‘incidental finding’ into a warning system…a marker of increased risk for heart failure, heart attacks, stroke, and death.”

 

Heart disease is “the leading and often under-recognized cause of death in women,” his Post piece adds.

 

The story says that “studies have shown that many women mistakenly believe that breast cancer is the leading cause of death, and they may not take seriously the much greater risk of heart disease.”

 

Dr. Mary Cushman

Mary Cushman, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Vermont, who wasn't part of the study, is quoted to the effect that if women were educated while getting a mammogram, "it could be a game changer."

She also contends, according to an email she wrote, that “it is a clarion call that younger women [under 50] do have risk, that it can be detected, and that detection of risk should lead to interventions.”

 

By 2050, it is projected, “a third of women between the ages of 20 and 44 will have some form of heart disease,” the study says.

 

More information on cancer and heart disease can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details.

Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff for Donald Trump, Reveals She Has Breast Cancer, Will Work Anyway

Susie Wiles, Donald Trump’s chief of staff, plans to keep working while being treated for breast cancer.

Wiles did not announce those facts, the president did. Today. He said the prognosis for his longtime confidante was “beyond excellent,” according to a story by Dan Diamond in The Washington Post.

Susie Wiles

Donald Trump

Two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Post indicate she’s working on White House strategy in regard to this year’s midterm elections, “encouraging officials to focus on affordability and other messages with bipartisan appeal."

Wiles, 68, a longtime political strategist, helped Trump win the state of Florida in 2016, and then managed his 2024 presidential campaign.

The Post piece indicates she’s honing in on “priorities such as drug price cuts and [tamping] down controversies around vaccines.”

According to Diamond’s article, Trump notes on Truth Social that during the treatment period Wiles “will be spending virtually full time at the White House, which makes me…very happy!”

Critics complained that Trump was politicizing breast cancer, just as he's politicized other difficult health and social situations in the past.

The story says that “Wiles has described her role as empowering Trump’s agenda, rather than serving as a check on his impulses, a break from some past chiefs of staff who have said that their most important role was saying no to the nation’s leader.

The piece continues: “She has also described Trump as having ‘an alcoholic’s personality,’ saying he ‘operates [with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing,” among several comments that were published in a pair of Vanity Fair articles that drew national attention last year.

More information on political activities can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, aVitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details.

Major update on the way for 'Rollercoaster: How a man can overcome his partner’s breast cancer'

If you’ve read 2015’s first edition, major changes should be instantly obvious in the second go-‘round of what’s been retitled as Rollercoaster: How a man can overcome his partner’s breast cancer or any other lethal disease.

Ruth Schwartz

The follow-up manuscript is currently in the hands of The Wonderlady, Ruth Schwartz, a book midwife who's sure it will be professionally readied for publication and sale throughout the world by spring.  

Schwartz’s hiring has been “a fail-safe action, a triple-check,” said I, Woody Weingarten, the book’s author and a lifelong journalist.

That’s because I’ve, indeed, updated “all of it,” after more than a year of intense research, rewriting, and fact checking, trailed by a helpful proof-reading by my son and caregiver, Mark.

Rollercoaster now includes several entirely new chapters pertaining to the cancer diagnoses and treatments of my wife, Nancy Fox, and how we coped with them. Like the rest of the book, they're a tribute to her and her courage.

One revised chapter details a truckload of new meds, and another explores multiple breakthrough treatments. A later section shows both agencies and books where help is available.

Anecdotes and humor are sprinkled throughout, to leaven the volume's heavy theme.

My other books are MysteryDates: How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds, co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details, including buy-buttons for Amazon, Barnes & Noble and a bevy of other vendors.

Scientists probe ways modern life can be fueling cancer among millennials, says Washington Post

There's been a "startling increase in cancer cases among millennials," according to an Advisory Board story that cites The Washington Post findings.

With the help of a bank of health experts, the Post has determined that "four potential environmental factors…could explain" the rise. They are maternal medicines, diet, circadian rhythm, and chemicals and microplastics.

The Advisory Board article states that the "trend of rising cancer rates among younger adults began with younger members of Generation X. But now, it's most apparent among millennials, who are being diagnosed in their early 40s or even younger."

According to the original Post article by Ariana Eunjung Cha, Álvaro Valiñe, and Dan Keating, "a growing number of scientists  are examining how the 'exposome' — or the total range of environmental exposures a person experiences throughout their life, even before birth — can impact a person's biology and risk of certain diseases."

Additional findings from a study released at an American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting are cited, to the effect that "millennials seemed to be aging biologically faster than older generations. This acceleration was associated with a significantly increased risk (up to 42%) for certain types of cancers, particularly those of the lung, gastrointestinal tract, and uterus."

Professor Gary Patti

The piece also cites research findings that "changes in everyday exposures may be accelerating aging, which makes the body more susceptible to diseases earlier than expected."

The story quotes Gary Patti, professor  of chemistry, genetics, and medicine at the University of Washington in St. Louis, as noting that "we've changed what we're exposed to considerably in the past few decades."

According to the story, Caitlin Murphy, a professor and cancer epidemiologist at the University of Chicago, While analyzing epidemiological data, had "discovered that cancer rates appeared to spike among millennials rather than just increasing with age."

Ultimately, the Washington Post article adds, "researchers say that the rise in cancer cases among younger adults reflects a deeper trend in human health. Several other major diseases, including heart disease and Alzheimer's, are not just being detected earlier, but are also starting earlier in life."

More information on trends in diseases can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, aVitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details.

 

Screening for lung cancer, the deadliest in U.S., misses most cases, new study reveals

Because of missed diagnoses, cancer and public health officials are calling for changes in lung cancer screening guidelines.

That conclusion, according to a recent story by Allyson Chiu in The Washington Post, was from a new study published in “JAMA Network Open,” a peer-reviewed journal.

Dr. Ankit Bharat

A majority of the lung cancer patients in this country would not meet the screening criteria as it  exists currently, the Post quoted Dr. Ankit Bharat, the study’s lead author and executive director of the Canning Thoracic Institute at Northwestern Medicine, as saying.

“If we have a more broader screening program, similar to breast and colon, then we would be able to detect substantially more patients at an earlier stage," he added.

 

The story indicates that if screening were made available for anyone between 40 and 80, nearly 94% of lung cancer cases could be detected, preventing at least roughly 26,000 deaths each year — "if even 30% of people get screened.”

 

The study had shown that of approximately 1,000 patients treated at Northwestern Medicine, only 1/3 met the requirements for screening. Eligible were people 50 to 80 who had a history of heavy smoking in the past 15 years, but women, minorities, and people who never smoked “were disproportionately excluded.”

 

Bharat noted that “lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer deaths in this country. It kills more people than breast, colon, and prostate put together.”

 

The Post piece also quoted Dr. Narjust Florez, a thoracic medical oncologist and co-director of the Young Lung Cancer Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, to the effect that “waiting for symptoms leads to most patients having a Stage 4 diagnosis.”

More information on studies can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, aVitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details.

American Cancer Society opens up new guidelines for cervical cancer screening

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has changed its guidelines for cervical cancer, saying self-collected vaginal swab tests are now acceptable.

 

But according to a recent story by Allyson Chiu in The Washington Post, clinician-collected cervical samples “are still preferred.”

 

The tests are aimed at human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that “causes nearly all cervical cancers,” the article maintains

 

Jane Montealegre

Self-collection could be "a game-changer for increasing screening, Chiu quotes Jane Montealegre, associate prof in the  department of behavioral sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, as saying.

Roughly 13,000 new cases of the disease are diagnosed in the United Staters annually, and about 4,000 women die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

Chiu writes that data shows that screening rates have declined in the past 20 years — although cancer incidence had been cut by more than half since the mid-1970s.

 

Montealegre — who also claims that most insurance should cover HPV testing, including self-collected — says a self-collected test could be a good option for women who aren’t comfortable getting as pelvic exam or don’t have access to one. 

 

But, she adds, if you’re interested in self-collection, you should ask your physician to make the option available, and you should make sure the test you use has received Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

 

“If they’re not FDA-approved, I wouldn't trust that as a valid screening test,” the Post quoted her again.

More information on new medical guidelines can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details.

New version of cancer drug Keytruda is 'easier' but poised to keep price high, N.Y. Times reports

Although drug manufacturer Merck says its new injected version of Keytruda will be cheaper and easier,  prices will probably stay high.

That conclusion was drawn in a recent story by Rebecca Robbins in The New York Times.

A subhead in the online article, which labels the original drug a "blockbuster," says the new version, which was given Federal Drug Administration last Friday, "stands to slow the adoption of cheaper competitors and increase costs by billions of dollars."

Dr. Benjamin Rome

The new version, Keytruda Qlex, is given via a shot under the skin while the original therapy is given through tubes as an intravenous infusion, the piece notes.

Merck, whose original patent is scheduled to run out in 2028, "followed a well-worn playbook," Robbins' story says, explaining that the corporation's "strategy is known as a product 'hop.' A company rides out its monopoly on the original drug, and then, a few years before competition reaches the market, the drugmaker 'hops' to a new version that remains protected by patents."

The Times article quotes Dr. Benjamin Rome, health policy researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, as saying that "we probably don't want to be paying so much much for these small additions on the tail end of a product that has already made billions of dollars."

Robbins' piece also reports that Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont "have accused Merck of abusing the patent system with the new Keytruda shot."

Dr. Marjorie Green, a  Merck exec, has called the new version "a meaningful advance," according to the Times.

Keytruda, which has been given 2.9 million patients and is "approved to treat 18 types of cancer, including of the skin, lung, breast, and colon," helped former President Jimmy Carter "extend his life by nearly a decade," the story adds. 

The drug, which accounts for nearly half of Merck's revenue, has generated $146 billion  in sales for the business. 

The new kinds of injections "have proved popular with hospitals," the story says, "because they free up infusion chairs for patients receiving chemotherapy and allow them to treat more patients." In a clinical study funded by Merck, the piece continues, "the Keytruda shot, injected into the stomach area or thigh, took about two minutes to administer compared with 30 minutes for the original infusion."

More information on drugs can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details.

Marathon and extreme runners much more likely to have pre-cancerous colon polyps, study says

A new study conducted by a Virginia doctor shows that comparatively young marathon and ultra-marathon runners are more apt to have pre-cancerous colon growths.

Dr. Timothy Cannon

The study by oncologist Timothy Cannon, who tested colonoscopies at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Va., on 100 volunteers aged 35 to 50, was showcased yesterday in a story by Roni Caryn Rabin in The New York Times.

"The results," the article says, "were staggering. Almost half the participants had polyps, and 15 percent had advanced adenomas likely to become cancerous."

The new study, the piece continued, "comes amid heightened concerns about a rise in colon and rectal cancer rates among adults under 50, a population that  historically has had a low risk of cancer."

Cannon, who ran the New York City marathon in 2010, is quoted believing that "after what I've seen from my patients and what we've found here, that extreme exercise may increase the risk."

As for continuing to run, he added that "you never want to give people an excuse not to exercise, because by and large we have bigger problems from people not exercising enough.

More information on what can cause the disease can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website at https://woodyweingarten.com for details.