Federal panel says colon cancer screening should start at 45, not 50, as disease strikes ever-younger adults
In response to an alarming, long-term increase in colorectal cancer among younger people, an influential federal panel on Tuesday lowered the recommended age to start screening from 50 to 45.
The American Cancer Society made the same recommendation three years ago, but with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now following suit, health insurers will have to get on board. They have a year to extend coverage of the menu of screening options — including colonoscopy, the gold standard exam — based on the updated guidance.
The latest studies and mathematical models suggest that finding and treating cancers at age 45 instead of 50 could add 22 to 27 years of life for those who get an earlier diagnosis, with only a small increase in complications, the task force reported in JAMA. For the first time, the models showed equal benefit across gender and races.
Jeffrey Farma, a surgical oncologist specializing in colon cancer at Fox Chase Cancer Center, noted that a third of adults age 50 and up are not up to date with screening, and a quarter have never been checked for colorectal cancer — the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. The rate is even worse among racial and ethnic minority groups and the poor.
Meanwhile, physicians generally still assume colorectal cancer is a slow-growing malignancy of advancing age, even though “early onset” disease — meaning before age 50 — is increasingly being diagnosed, often at incurable stages, in people in their 30s, 20s and younger.
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Chris Christie says he won’t wait for Trump to decide on 2024 presidential run
NEW YORK – Chris Christie says he’s not waiting for anybody to decide whether to run for president in 2024 — even former President Donald Trump.
The former New Jersey governor and 2016 GOP presidential candidate insisted Tuesday he’ll do what he thinks is best for himself and the country.
“I’m ... not going to be one of these people who’s going to say, ‘Well, I’ll wait to see what President Trump’s going to do,’” Christie said on the Ruthless Podcast. “I’m not going to defer to anyone if I decide that it’s what I want to do, and that I think I’m the best option for the party and for the country.”
The Ruthless Podcast is popular in conservatives circles and is co-hosted by Josh Holmes, former chief of staff and campaign manager to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Christie made it clear he is strongly considering a White House run, saying: “I certainly wouldn’t preclude it.”
He suggested that he would aim to turn the page from the “reckless” policies of the Trump era.
“What I want to do is to try to lead the party in a productive and smart way for us to continue to argue for populist-type policies, but not to be reckless, not to be reckless with our policies, not to be reckless with our language, to be smart about it,” Christie said.
—New York Daily News
Oakland party bus shooting leaves 2 women dead, others wounded
OAKLAND, Calif. — Two women were killed and at least three other women were wounded early Tuesday morning after someone opened fire on a party bus on an Oakland freeway, authorities said.
The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau confirmed one woman died in the bus and the other at an Oakland hospital.
The shooting happened at about 12:20 a.m. on eastbound Interstate 580 near the Seminary Avenue off-ramp, as the party bus was returning to Oakland from San Francisco with a group celebrating a woman’s 21st birthday.
A gunman or gunmen in another vehicle began shooting at the bus on the freeway and the suspects followed the bus off I-580 and shot at at it some more on city streets, near 68th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, authorities said. Dozens of rounds were fired at the party bus.
Others on the bus who were wounded were taken to a hospital from the Oakland Police Eastmont Substation, where the bus driver was able to drive to after the shooting. One of the victims is in critical condition.
Relatives who showed up at the Eastmont station told the Bay Area News Group that one of the women killed was a 19-year-old Stockton resident. A man who identified himself as the father of the 21-year-old celebrating her birthday said she was shot in the leg but is in stable condition.
—East Bay Times
64% in Connecticut support legal weed, poll says
As Connecticut lawmakers weigh legalizing recreational marijuana, a new poll from Sacred Heart University shows continued strong support for the measure.
The poll, released Tuesday, shows 63.9% of respondents either strongly or somewhat support allowing adults 21 and older to possess marijuana for their personal use. Support was stronger among younger respondents and those who identified as Democrats.
It also found significant support for erasing criminal records for those previously convicted of low-level marijuana offenses, with 61.6% strongly or somewhat supporting including that provision as part of legal marijuana legislation.
With three weeks to go before the General Assembly adjourns June 9, it’s unclear if lawmakers will pass a marijuana bill before the session ends. House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said recently that the issue could be debated in a special session this summer if an agreement is reached.
“We continue to work on the bill, we’re working with the [Lamont] administration, we have a meeting lined up for this evening,” House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, said Tuesday. “We’ve certainly gotten some edits from the administration we’re able to consider.”
Rojas said one focus of discussion was who would qualify as an “equity applicant” and get preferred status for licenses to sell recreational cannabis.
—Hartford Courant
