Dr. Len's Cancer Blog

We have a tendency in this country to assume that advances in health care technology are good, and always beneficial for patient care. 

An article in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine which discusses the possible long term adverse effects from CT scans rightly points out that sometimes we ignore the potential for risks associated with those technologies, at our own peril.

The premise is reasonably straight forward: CT scans are X-ray devices, and they deliver a substantial amount of radiation when compared to more traditional forms of x-rays. The problem is that this radiation may cause cancers in some patients.

This has been a sad week, and there have been many tears at our office since Andrew Jackson passed away last Wednesday.  His funeral is tomorrow, and I am about to start my journey back to Atlanta so I can join many of my friends to offer solace to his parents and family in their time of sorrow.

Andrew is the son of one of my colleagues here at our National Home Office in Atlanta. 

Ron Jackson is more than a co-worker.  He is a friend and a presence, whose smile and good nature has always been so special to many of us.  He was always proud of his family, and devoted to his wife, Angela, their daughter Raegan, and of course, their son Andrew.  Our conversations were often about promises and the future, about education and hope.

Their family’s journey began a couple of years ago when Andrew, at the tender age of two years old was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I am attending the American Medical Association House of Delegates meeting in Honolulu.  It is early in the morning, and I am looking out over the ocean, with Diamondhead in the distance.

There is no getting around the fact that this is a very beautiful island.  And, there is no getting around the fact--in stark contrast to last year when this meeting was held in Las Vegas—that cigarette smoke is far removed from the scene.

It leads me to reflect on the thought that with so many beautiful places to see and things to do in life why someone would consciously choose not to do everything possible to improve their health and enjoy life?

Our 2007 Great American Smokeout is just around the corner this Thursday, November 15, so maybe it’s time for you to ask yourself that same question if you happen to be a smoker.

My wife and I have just arrived in Hawaii to attend the American Medical Association House of Delegates meeting being held in Honolulu today through next Tuesday.

You may recall that last year at this time we were in Las Vegas, where the cigarette smoke in the casinos was a major irritant.

Well, it’s hard to be here in this land of sun without thinking about a topic that is also near and dear to our hearts, and that is sun exposure and the risk of skin cancer.

It’s no secret that the American Cancer Society, in conjunction with its sister advocacy organization the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, has recently embarked on an ambitious campaign to raise awareness of the problems with access to health care in this country.

I previously wrote in detail about this campaign when it was launched in mid-September.   It was founded on four core principles that define our need to provide meaningful health insurance for all Americans.  We have called these principles “The 4 A’s,” which set standards for health insurance that is adequate, available, affordable and administratively simple.

I guess I am not surprised that the purpose of this campaign has been distorted by some to forward their own agendas, through misrepresentations of the goals of this campaign.