I have reported before about a new cancer screening that could save 12,000 lives per year. But the government refuses to take it seriously. Medicare refuses to pay for it. And the “experts” at the National Cancer Institute dismiss it because of limitations such as “false positives.” (Despite the fact that these limitations apply to each and every cancer screening.) One expert even expressed a biased, unscientific, and downright insulting opinion that victims of this particular cancer wouldn’t bother to get the new screening because, “they don’t care about their health.”
This statement illustrates the outright discrimination aimed at the victims of the nation’s No. 1 cancer killer. And it’s so bad, some people hide their diagnosis. They claim another cause of illness, because of the shame heaped upon them.
Of course, I’m talking about lung cancer, and giving high-risk patients CT scans to detect it.
According to the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLCST), this screening technique could reduce lung cancer deaths by a whopping 20 percent. (The NLCST was one of the largest and most expensive studies ever done in the U.S., funded with your tax dollars between 2002 and 2010.)
There is nothing mysterious about this cancer screening method. It’s done using low-dose computed tomography or CT scans. And the medical-industrial complex has made sure these highly profitable CT scanners are available in every hospital. And at thousands of clinics and stand-alone open centers. They’re overused to diagnose everything from head trauma to a broken toe.
The one thing for which the scanners aren’t being used is diagnosing our nation’s No. 1 cancer killer! Rather than help the victims of lung cancer, the government is patting itself on the back for reducing smoking rates…
In fact, as I told you earlier this month, according to America’s “Health Report Card” smoking rates in this country have gone down even faster than anticipated. Of course, this accomplishment is no surprise given the government’s monomaniacal obsession. But it’s still a hollow victory.
Lung cancer rates haven’t improved one iota. In fact, they’ve gotten worse. And lung cancer is still the nation’s No. 1 cancer killer.
Plus, most people diagnosed with lung cancer today are former smokers or never smokers. In fact, only one in 10 smokers ever get lung cancer!
The most tragic part of this whole situation is that we have a targeted, safe way to prevent lung cancer. But, as I said, it’s been largely ignored and discredited.
The government-industrial-medical complex pushes mammograms to prevent breast cancer. Although strong evidence shows they make no difference in breast cancer mortality among younger women. It pushes costly colonoscopies to prevent colon cancer. But doesn’t tell you about the grisly and deadly complications that can result, nor about the several safe and effective alternatives. And routine PAP smears for cervical cancer is the one cancer screening that does work as promised. But the government-industrial-complex pushes dangerous and ineffective vaccines on innocent young girls, which may result in not getting effective PAP screenings.
But when it comes to CT scans for lung cancer, we are met with deafening silence from the government.
The Wall Street Journal recently exposed another side of the discrimination against lung cancer victims…
Medicare covers screenings for breast, colon and prostate cancer. These cancers are far less deadly than lung cancer. Plus, the routine screenings for these cancers have been seriously questioned for decades.
But Medicare doesn’t cover CT scans for lung cancer. This oversight is particularly egregious because 70 percent of lung cancer deaths occur in the Medicare population.
So, they wind up trying to treat the disease without much success. In fact, lung cancer treatment is largely futile, partly because the government’s single-minded focus on smoking has ignored basic lung cancer biology and treatment research for decades.
Not only could the government save tens of thousands of lives, they could save tens of millions of dollars by not having to treat all the lung cancers they could prevent with proper screening.
But–hey–Medicare, Obamacare, and other government health insurance schemes don’t blindly discriminate against everyone. They will pay for an elective sex-change operation. In one enlightened state, the taxpayer-funded prison system will even pay for incarcerated felons to get this operation. But apparently, getting lung cancer is the one unforgiveable sin. Whether or not you were even ever a smoker.
Sources:
1. “Medicare’s Puzzling Refusal to Cover Lung-Cancer Screening,” Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) 6/17/2014