Louisiana Weekly

By Carla K. Johnson AP Writer (AP) — Annual mammograms are recommended indefinitely for breast cancer survivors in many countries, including the U.S., but a large British study finds that less frequent screening is just as good. Yearly screening is meant to monitor whether cancer has come back. All that testing causes anxi- ety for patients and costs money. Until now, there wasn’t solid evi- dence for when women could ease back on yearly mammograms, said Janet Dunn of the University of Warwick, who led the study funded by the research arm of the U.K.’s National Health Service. The study showed less frequent mammograms are just as good as a yearly schedule for breast cancer survivors 50 and older. “It’s really all about giving the ladies the all-clear a bit earlier if you can,” Dunn said. The findings were being discussed Friday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The unpublished study has not yet gone through a full peer review. Researchers followed more than 5,200 women. The participants were 50 and older, and had under- gone successful breast cancer sur- gery, mostly lumpectomies. After three years of annual screening, half were randomly assigned to get mammograms every year and the other half to get less frequent ones. Both groups did well, with remarkably similar results. Six years later, 95 percent of both groups were still cancer free. Breast cancer survival was 98 per- cent in both groups. “This is an eye-opening study,” said breast cancer specialist Dr. Laura Esserman of the University of California, San Francisco who was not involved in the new study but is leading research on a personalized approach to screening. “I think people will be very surprised.” The new study is “very strong,” but more research will be needed to change U.S. guidelines, said Corinne Leach of Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. She led the develop- ment of a 2015 U.S. guideline that calls for indefinite annual screening for these kinds of patients. “One study alone typically does not move the needle on guide- lines,” Leach said. “This study inspires other researchers to do more work in this area. And that is what could lead to a change.” In the new study, most women in both groups followed their assigned screening schedule. Some in the annual group missed screenings and some in the less frequent group were screened ahead of schedule. When the researchers analyzed the findings based on what the women actual- ly did, the conclusions remained the same. Survivors “can breathe easily” three years after surgery as they resume a less frequent mammo- gram schedule, Dunn said. The findings are likely to change prac- tice in the U.K. and “will be influ- ential globally,” she said. How often is less frequent? In the study, it depended on the type of surgery. In the less-frequent screening group, women who’d had mastec- tomies had a mammogram once every three years. Those who’d had lumpectomies, also called breast conservation surgery, had mammograms every two years. The findings do not apply to younger breast cancer survivors, who were excluded from the study and tend to have more aggressive cancers. And women who have both breasts removed don’t need mammograms. “It’s high time that we have a more personalized approach to screening, not just for women who’ve never had breast cancer, but for those who’ve had breast cancer,” Esserman said.◊ Page 6 December 25 - December 31 , 2023 THE LOUISIANA WEEKLY - YOUR MULTICULTURAL MEDIUM Health crisis looms: CDC issues stark warning amidst rising tide of COVID and flu cases More people are using CBD products. There’s still little research on the benefits and risks By Stacy M. Brown Contributing Writer (NNPANewswire) —A looming healthcare crisis is on the horizon as hospitals and emergency rooms face the potential need to ration care by the month’s end, according to a chilling advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC’s latest briefing under- scores the swift escalation in COVID-19 hospitalizations, with a particular focus on the surge in multisystem inflammatory syn- drome in children (MIS-C). Simultaneously, influenza is gain- ing momentum nationwide, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to pose a significant threat in multiple regions. Several reports noted that pedi- atric hospitals are grappling with a near-maximum patient load, mirroring the levels witnessed this time last year. Emergency room visits for school-age chil- dren have undergone an alarming, nearly twofold increase, driven chiefly by a surge in flu cases. The CDC said the spike follows a period of stabilized emergency room figures leading up to Thanksgiving. Strikingly, influenza-related emergency room visits have now eclipsed those for COVID-19 across most age groups, with seniors being the sole exception where COVID-19 rates remain markedly higher. Nursing homes also are reported- ly witnessing a sharp uptick in reported COVID-19 cases, particu- larly in the Midwestern region, where infections among residents have already surpassed last year’s peak. The emergence of the JN.1 COVID variant contributes signifi- cantly to the current wave of infec- tions, estimated to comprise up to 29% of cases nationwide – a stark increase from 8.8 percent at the close of November. According to the CDC’s projec- tions, JN.1, a direct descendant of the highly mutated BA.2.86 vari- ant, has become the swiftest-grow- ing variant in the United States. While a World Health Organization panel asserts that JN.1’s alterations do not warrant a revision to this season’s vaccines, initial data raises concerns about reduced vaccine efficacy against this variant. Despite the situation’s urgency, the CDC said vaccination rates are experiencing an unprecedented decline. Adult flu vaccinations are trailing by approximately eight mil- lion doses compared to last year, and children’s flu shots have dipped by around five percentage points. Bridging this gap is anticipated to be a formidable challenge, accord- ing to discussions between vaccine manufacturers and the CDC. With only a third of nursing home residents and less than 10 percent of staff receiving the COVID-19 vaccine this season, Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director of the CDC, expressed deep con- cern about the sluggish vaccine uptake. Urging healthcare providers to intensify efforts, especially among high-risk groups, she emphasizes the cru- cial role of vaccinations as the peak of the respiratory virus season looms. The CDC emphasized the importance of staying updated on vaccinations against respira- tory viruses. Beyond COVID-19 and influenza, a global uptick in pneumonia cases in children is also under scrutiny, officials asserted.◊ A new study bolsters evidence that severe obesity is increasing in young kids in the US Breast cancer survivors may not need so many mammograms after surgery, UK study suggests By Mike Stobbe AP Writer (AP) —A new study adds to evi- dence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children. There was some hope that chil- dren in a government food pro- gram might be bucking a trend in obesity rates — earlier research found rates were dropping a little about a decade ago for those kids. But an update released Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate bounced back up a bit by 2020. The increase echoes other national data, which suggests around 2.5 percent of all pre- school-aged children were severe- ly obese during the same period. “We were doing well and now we see this upward trend,” said one of the study’s authors, Heidi Blanck of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We are dismayed at seeing these findings.” The study looked at children ages 2 to 4 enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children program, which pro- vides healthy foods and other servic- es to preschool-aged children in low- income families. The children were weighed and measured. The researchers found that 2.1 percent of kids in the program were severely obese in 2010. Six years later, the rate had dipped to 1.8 percent. But by 2020, it was 2 percent. That translates to about 33,000 of more than 1.6 million kids in the WIC program. Significant increases were seen in 20 states with the highest rate in California at 2.8 percent. There also were notable rises in some racial and ethnic groups. The highest rate, about 2.8 percent, was in Hispanic kids. Experts say severe obesity at a very early age is nearly irre- versible, and is strongly associat- ed with chronic health problems and an early death. It’s not clear why the increase occurred, Blanck said. When WIC obesity rates dropped, some experts attributed it to 2009 policy changes that elimi- nated juice from infant food pack- ages, provided less saturated fat, and tried to make it easier to buy fruits and vegetables. The package hasn’t changed. But “the daily hardships that families living in poverty are facing may be harder today than they were 10 years ago, and the slight increases in the WIC package just weren’t enough,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong, a Duke University childhood obesity researcher. The researchers faced challenges. The number of kids in WIC declined in the past decade. And the study period included 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic hit, when fewer parents brought their children in to see doctors. That reduced the amount of complete information available. Despite it’s limitations, it was a “very well done study,” said Deanna Hoelscher, a childhood obesity researcher at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, “It gives you a hint of what’s going on.” What’s happened since 2020 is not yet known. Some small studies have suggested a marked increase in childhood obesity — especially dur- ing the pandemic, when kids were kept home from schools, eating and bedtime routines were disrupted and physical activity decreased. “We are thinking it’s going to get worse,” Hoelscher said.◊ By Devi Shastri AP Writer CBD use increased 50 percent in the past four years, according to a new survey published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. About 1 in 5 survey respon- dents said they used CBD in the past year. People who use cannabis are more likely to report using CBD, CBG and other hemp-derived compounds, the survey, done by NORC at the University of Chicago, showed. Also, people who live in a state where mari- juana is illegal are more likely to use delta-8 THC, a mildly intox- icating sibling of delta-9 THC, which is the psychoactive com- pound in marijuana. “Although there are a lot of sur- vey studies out that show this increased use, we don’t have a lot of good data on what effects any of these things have, either harm- ful or beneficial,” said Angela Bryan, a University of Colorado- Boulder professor who has stud- ied the public health implications of cannabis legalization for more than a decade. She was not involved in the JAMA study. CBD and similar compounds have boomed in popularity since the 2018 farm bill legalized hemp production, and are found in lotions, tinctures, candies, vapes and more. While there is a lack of government regulation for the products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did approve one drug that contains CBD in 2018 to help treat two rare seizure disorders. Surveys show people use CBD and other hemp compounds to treat everything from anxiety and sleep issues to pain. But experts say there is not enough clinical research on the com- pounds. The FDA warned CBD can cause liver injury and can poorly interact with certain medications. Delta-8 THC is of particular con- cern, because of adverse side effects and because of how it is chemically manufactured. Several states, including Colorado, ban or regulate delta-8 THC, though it is sold in many states due to a loop- hole in federal law. “The implication in the paper, and I think it’s accurate, is that if you don’t have access to legal delta-9, then you’re going to seek out delta-8,” Bryan said. “But we know even less about delta-8 than we do about delta-9.”◊