October 18, 2002 

IN THIS ISSUE:
Putting Quality Information to Work For You, Cancer Rates Going Up, Melanoma Screening Should Focus on Men Over 50, A Simple Blood Test To Catch Prostate Cancer? 

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NEWS HEADLINES

Blood Test Catches Prostate Cancer - Report

Melanoma Screening Should Target Men Over 50 Years of Age

Antiperspirants Not Linked to Breast Cancer: Study

Re-Calculation of Cancer Rates Shows Trend Upward by Rachael Myers Lowe, cancerpage

Women Who Drink Heavily During Pregnancy May Increase Daughters' Breast Cancer Risk By Rachael Myers Lowe, cancerpage

Genetic Counseling Suggested For Women Seeking Prophylactic Double Mastectomy By Rachael Myers Lowe, cancerpage

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IS INFORMATION POWER? ONLY IF IT'S USED!

The Harris Research firm reports consumers appear to ignore quality ratings when making healthcare decisions. The October 11 report from HarrisInteractive Health Care Research says even though millions of people have seen such ratings, less than one percent has acted on them. "These published lists of ratings, which rank different [healthcare] plans and providers have had virtually no impact on consumer choice." The editors, however, are not discouraged. Quality reports do appear to change the actions of those organizations that are rated. And consumers may come around, once healthcare ratings become more established.

To read the whole report, visit the HarrisInteractive website: Under What's New, click on the report title "Quality Ratings Have Almost No Influence on Consumers' Choices of Hospitals, Health Plans and Physicians ". This is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat reader to open.
Web address: http://www.harrisinteractive.com

Interested in being in that <1% of empowered consumers? Check out the plans in your area through the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA.) Click on Health Plan Report Card under Hot Links.
Web address: http://www.ncqa.org/index.htm

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WORTH REPEATING -- POULTRY RECALL RAISES ALERT FOR CANCER PATIENT

The USDA has announced the largest recall ever of millions of pounds of poultry potentially tainted listeria bacteria. Even in healthy people, infections can be life threatening. Patients with compromised immune systems, such as some cancer patients, face even more serious challenges. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service offers guidelines for preparing meat for consumption. The USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline # is 1-800-535-4555.

To read about steps you can take to prevent listeria infection. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/recalls/prelease/pr090-2002.htm

For a list of active re-calls: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/recalls/rec_actv.htm 

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ABOUT CANCERPAGE.COM

Cancerpage.com was launched in January 2000 as a resource for cancer patients and their loved ones. Listed as a Web Resource on the NCI and FDA websites, cancerpage.com is written in plain English for the newly diagnosed and designed to address the many needs of those touched by cancer - the need for accurate, unbiased, medically sound, and easy-to-understand information and the need for community. These dedicated volunteers understand how important emotional support can be for healing. Cancerpage is a service of Matria Healthcare.