cancer
The Pump Handle
Tag archives for cancer
Asbestos victims demand North American ban on use and export of asbestos
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 13, 2011 [Update 12/15/11 below] It’s been 3 1/2 years since Leah Nielsen lost her father from mesothelioma. “I took care of my father as he died an excruciating death. He died too young.” This Utah resident wants to protect others from suffering the same kind of horrible death by banning the use and export of asbestos.…
The rationing that already happens: drug shortages in the US
Posted by Liz Borkowski on October 3, 2011 One thing that drove me nuts during the healthcare reform debate was the scare tactic of claiming that proposed legislation would result in rationing of healthcare. The problem with making such a claim is that healthcare is already rationed in the US. We ration healthcare based on insurance status and ability to pay. And, as…
Occupational Health News Roundup
Posted by Liz Borkowski on September 2, 2011 A study just published in The Lancet compares the incidence rates of cancers in firefighters who worked at the World Trade Center site during and after the 9/11 attacks to the rates in firefighters not exposed to the disaster or its aftermath. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center and the…
Film “Semper Fi” profiles Marine families’ struggle for justice
Posted by The Pump Handle on June 27, 2011 by Dick Clapp, DSc, MPH The documentary “Semper Fi: Always Faithful” was screened at the Congressional Auditorium in the Capitol Visitors Center on a hot, humid evening in Washington, DC on June 23. Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC) welcomed the audience of Congressional staff, North Carolina Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), and approximately 150 audience members and…
Award-winning Writing About Cancer
Posted by Liz Borkowski on May 11, 2011 The American Society of Magazine Editors has announced its 2010 award winners, and I found it striking that three of the winning pieces address the issue of cancer. Over the past couple of years, we’ve heard more cautions about the downsides of aggressive screening for breast and prostate cancers – and then we occasionally also…
The President’s Cancer Panel report pulls no punches about workplace exposure
Posted by Liz Borkowski on June 25, 2010 New Solutions: The Drawing Board is a monthly feature produced by the journal New Solutions. Read more about it here. By Richard Clapp The President’s Cancer Panel report released on May 6 had some strong findings and recommendations on ways to reduce the cancer burden caused by workplace exposures. This is welcome news to U.S.…
“In many instances, we know enough to act”: Chemicals and cancer
Posted by The Pump Handle on May 21, 2010 By Elizabeth Grossman If the recommendations of the just published President’s Cancer Panel report, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now, become part of a comprehensive national policy agenda, the United States will have a remarkable new cancer prevention strategy – one that includes aggressive efforts to reduce and eliminate chemical exposures that…