no mention of prostate in the healthcare bill

tinyurl.com/279ph5a
...
“It is really paradoxical because women in many ways are doing better than men, so for example, if you do a search in the health care bill there is not one mention of ‘prostate’ and are over 40 mentions of ‘breast’ and men are tax payers, they should get equal health treatment,” Roth told The Daily Caller"


While enlightening it doesn't surprise me.

I don't think it's helpful to frame any discussion of how various cancers are approached and treated in terms of "us" versus "them," but here's an article that compares breast cancer and prostate cancer numbers:  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/80165/the_great_dichotomy_breast_cancer_versus.html?cat=5

 

I think it's of interest that certain other cancers that affect women are not attacked with the same fervor as breast cancer:  uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and others receive considerably less attention than does breast cancer.

 

Men, and women for that matter, perceive the female breast as perhaps the ultimate symbol of femininity.  We're repulsed at the thought of cancer striking that most significant, most prominent aspect of a woman's beauty.  The results of treatment can be disfiguring and extremely difficult for the woman to deal with.

 

I haven't expressed this as well as I would like, but I just think it's inevitable that breast cancer will always receive more public attention than other types of cancer. 

 

What amazes me most is not the different ways in which breast cancer and prostate cancer are approached.  I'm more surprised that children's cancers aren't paid more attention.  It's those brave little kids suffering silently at places like St. Jude's or at Children's Memorial in Chicago that have the greatest pull on my heartstrings.

 

The bottom line, of course, is that every cancer is a horrible affliction, whether it's skin cancer or brain cancer, or anything in the entire cancer spectrum.

 

 

clocknut said...

Men, and women for that matter, perceive the female breast as perhaps the ultimate symbol of femininity. We're repulsed at the thought of cancer striking that most significant, most prominent aspect of a woman's beauty. The results of treatment can be disfiguring and extremely difficult for the woman to deal with.

^ QFT Plus it's hardwired in our nature to protect the woman.

Besides what kind of catchy slogan could we come up with, the women have "Save the TaTa's" what would we say, "Save the Walnut"?

Sorry, serious subject but couldn't resist.

I saw that David,
Of course the "projected" versus the "actual" tend to be a bit differing, so my numbers are retrospective. Still, the incidence of prostate cancer versus the incidence of breast cancer is not even close. It will be interesting to see if the current trend by the ACS and others will make for less men screened, and thus diagnosed, yet with higher incidence of mortality. It won't be fun, but it will be interesting...I would hate to see higher death rates in prostate cancer, but that's the logical thing that will happen if less men are screened.

Tony

Pog,
I stand corrected. I cited my facts sheet incorrectly and showed the incidence of colorectal cancer in women for 2007. The incidence of death was the correct figure for that year.

This publication from the ACS shows the 2009 estimates on page 4:
www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@nho/documents/document/f861009final90809pdf.pdf

In 2009 it is estimated that 28,000 men died of prostate cancer. That versus 40,000 women. It is worth noting that less women are dying from breast cancer, but more men are dying from prostate cancer.

Thank you for the raised flag. I hate when I miss a mark.

Tony

That is because prostate cancer is the "good" cancer or so I have been told by some. I tell them it is not good if you have it. All cancer is bad including  prostate cancer. Too bad that never made it into the thousands of pages of the bill that no one read before approving.