We've created more cancer patients--and more cancer "survivors"--than ever... but we haven't done a thing about the cancer death rate.
New numbers from the CDC show how badly broken this system is--but don't expect the mainstream to admit it.
They like it just the way it is.
I'll tell you why in a moment--but first, let's look at what we've done to ourselves here: One in 20 of us can now wear a "cancer survivor" bracelet, including a fifth of all seniors.
That's a dramatic rise of 20 percent in just 6 years, from 9.8 million "survivors" in 2001 to 11.7 million in 2007, the most recent year in the CDC's new analysis.
On the surface, that looks great: More people are surviving cancer.
Hooray for us!
But dig a little deeper and you'll uncover the uncomfortable truth: Most of these people underwent expensive and traumatic treatments for cancers that never would have hurt them.
Need proof?
Cancer kills 200 out of every 100,000 Americans every year, including 1,000 out of every 100,000 seniors--and those numbers are unchanged in more than 60 years.
That's right--unchanged.
So despite what you've heard about cancer "survival" rates, we've actually done nothing to boost survival where it matters most.
But we're pretty good at boosting costs, and that's what this is really all about.
Other new studies out right now show how expensive cutting-edge cancer treatments add hundreds and even thousands of dollars to every patient's tab-- despite the fact that there's no evidence they improve outcomes.
Prime example: robots that perform prostate surgeries.
Prostate surgery in general may be on the outs as more men realize these cancers usually don't need any treatment at all--but I'll bet you won't hear about that at any hospital that's just invested $2 million or more in a robot that performs prostate surgeries.
Researchers analyzed data on more than 30,000 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2001 and 2005, then tracked robot purchases at 554 hospitals during that time.
They found that while the overall number of surgeries fell slightly during that period, hospitals with robots actually did more of them--an average increase of 29 surgeries in the first year alone.
Hospitals without robots, on the other hand, did an average of five fewer surgeries, according to the study in Medical Care.
There's just no evidence that robot surgeries offer better outcomes than regular surgeries--but there is evidence they can bring in better money: In addition to performing more procedures overall, hospitals charge up to $2,000 more for each one.
It's not just robots.
Another study finds that minimally invasive radical prostatectomy, which costs an extra $300 per patient, and intensity-modulated radiation therapy, which can cost up to $11,000 more per patient, added $350 million to the overall cancer bill in 2005 alone--despite the fact that, once again, neither treatment is proven to deliver better outcomes.
That's just prostate cancer, but it doesn't end there--too many doctors and hospitals see cancer patients of all kinds as walking dollar signs.
They know these people are scared--and when you're scared, you can be rushed into a bad decision.
Don't be scared, and don't rush.
If you're diagnosed with cancer, it's more important than ever to do your homework--and a great place to start your research is in the free online library of the Health Sciences Institute.
It's the kind of place those pushy docs hope you'll never find... and the kind of place that could save your life and your bank account at the same time.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
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