Tag: Cancer

Breast Cancer, Disease Resources
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Resources for Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer is a very serious condition that affects many women in America. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, “One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.” It is also the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, with over 220,000 women diagnosed annually in thde Unite States with an estimated 40,000 annual deaths. Breast Cancer also affects men, although it is more rare — “an estimated 2,150 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 410 will die each year.”  Breast Cancer affects each patient differently — “Breast cancer can begin in different […]

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Camps
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All About Camps & Retreats

This winter may be dragging on and on for many of us, but summer is just around the corner! A fun past-time for many children and young adults is summer camp – a few weeks away from home, cooking over a camp-fire, s’mores and sing-a-longs. Many children with specific diagnoses, however, are unable to go to camp with their peers; their condition keeps them from going to summer camp. This can be very upsetting, telling a child they cannot participate along with their peers due to a medical condition. Luckily, however, there are now many camps and retreats specifically designed […]

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Prescription Drugs
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Gender-Specific Medicine: Part 2

This week we continue to look at gender medicine- how diseases may manifest themselves differently, and how medications may affect differently- depending on whether you are male or female. An editorial in Nature in 2010 urged us to “put Gender on the Agenda,” as increasingly we are seeing from research results that there are distinct gender-based differences in disease incidence and activity, and treatment methods, especially medication. Cancer, for example, is the second leading cause of death among women and men, (Anderson, R.N., Deaths: Leading Causes for 2000. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2002, National Center for Health Statistics: Hyattsville, MD), […]

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Prescription Drugs
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Gender-Specific Medicine

“Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars.” “Women think differently than men.” These viewpoints appear to be widespread and popular, fueling spirited and on-going debate in the media and the arts, but what about healthcare and medicine? Most medical research over the years has focused on white men as subjects, and results were then extrapolated to include everyone else. From an ethical perspective, there were some humanistic reasons for this, e.g., protecting women and children from experimental research that may not have benefited them. In many cases, however, research focused on those in positions of power. This situation is slowly […]

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Prescription Drugs, Specialty Drugs
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The Lowdown on Specialty Drugs II: Biosimilars and How to Get Your Insurance Company to Cover the Costs

Biosimilars are defined as “similar versions of an existing biological medicine by a different manufacturer.” Biosimilars may be used to treat difficult-to-manage conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, HIV and cancer, among other conditions. Because they are more complex and more difficult to manufacture than other pharmaceuticals, rigid compliance to regulations and quality control are crucial to avoid contamination and drug shortages. Their complexity also means that they are more expensive for the patient. A recent article by NBC News suggests that “the number of patients who could benefit from these more sophisticated therapies will only continue to […]

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About Us

Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.