As Breast Cancer Awareness Month nears its end and the election looms, healthcare is top of people's minds. It became a focal point during Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court hearings as the Affordable Care Act waits for another day in court.
As the CEO of Susan G. Komen, Paula Schneider, a breast cancer survivor herself, told Cheddar's Opening Bell, "People need to care that their healthcare is one of the most important rights that they should have."
During the same interview, journalist Katie Couric, founder of Katie Couric Media, also called healthcare an essential right saying, "if you have a system that isn't open to people, it's just blatantly, terribly, un-American."
The National Cancer Institute estimates that as of January 2019, there are 16.9 million cancer survivors in the United States. This represents approximately 5 percent of the population, and that number of cancer survivors is projected to increase by nearly 30 percent, to nearly 22 million, by 2029.
Now amid the pandemic, people are delaying screening and routine care with a sharp drop in screenings and cancer diagnoses this year. According to a recent JAMA study, breast cancer diagnoses alone saw a 51.8 percent dip in March and April compared to previous years. According to Schneider, some reports show that drop being as large as 80 percent when it comes to breast cancer. "That doesn't mean it's not happening," she said. "It just means it's not being diagnosed, and therefore it's not being treated."
"Ladies get your mammograms."
As for Couric, she has faced the heartbreak of cancer within her own family. Her first husband Jay and her sister Emily both died following their battles with cancer. She said that one of the most important things a support system can do for a cancer patient is just to be there. "When Jay was sick he said having cancer is the loneliest experience in the world," Couric said.
That's part of the reason she partnered with pharmaceutical giant Merck for a new project called Your Cancer Story. The program provides information and support to cancer patients from diagnosis to treatment to survivorship. Couric said she wishes she had access to this kind of program for her own family years ago.
"You can see people talking about what they're going through. You can get advice. You can get guidance. You can get support," she explained. "Other survivors and other caregivers can talk about some of the things they wish they had known."
Despite challenges like inflation, labor and product shortages, and the Omicron variant, holiday sales saw record levels of growth this year, according to a new report from Mastercard SpendingPulse. The group reports on national retail sales across all payment types, finding that holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years this year. Mastercard senior advisor and former chariman and CEO of Saks Incorporated Steve Sadove joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Dr. Saralyn Mark, COVID-19 leader at the American Medical Women's Association and former senior medical advisor at the White House, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says people should reconsider their plans for New Year's Eve due to the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant and adds that we should be using the resources at our disposal to make the best decisions.
2021 was a wild ride for the world of cryptos. Both Bitcoin and Etherum hit new all-time highs, as well as other coins like SHIB-INU. According to several experts, crypto is here to stay and is expected to blast off in the year 2022 as more and more people invest in the crypto world. The host of "The O Show" Wendy O, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
According to recent new polls, Americans are becoming more and more skeptical about tech companies. A number of respondents revealed their distrust of companies like Apple, Instagram, Facebook, and even Tik Tok. They say that they believe it is time for government agencies to step in to take action in order to protect users' personal information and data. Technology Reporter at AXIOS Ashley Gold, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Over the past year, the new love for gaming has created a huge demand for the consumption of content on streaming platforms. All this has caused a rise in gaming influencers all over the world. Founder of Viral Nation Joe Gagliese and Digital Video Executive Andrew Wall, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The U.S. population has dipped to its slowest rate since the nation's founding. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population grew just point 0.11% from 2020 to 2021 due in part to decreased international migration, decreased fertility, and increased mortality from the pandemic. Paul Overberg, reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joined Cheddar to discuss what's behind the record slow growth in population and why it has negative implications for the economy and the nation.
Carlo and Baker kick off the weirdest week of the year with all the news you missed over the holiday weekend, including calls for the CDC to shorten its isolation window as Omicron sweeps through the country.
The 2022 Winter Olympics will be without some of hockey's biggest players. The NHL and the NHL Player's Association have agreed to not participate in the men's hockey tournament at the Games in Beijing next year. The league has been forced to postpone some games because of a rise in COVID-19 cases among players. Washington Post sports reporter Samantha Pell joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what this could mean for the Winter Olympics and the sport of hockey.
Baron Davis and Kate Hudson want you to bring cannabis home for the holidays. The cannabis-infused seltzer brand Cann released a new spot featuring the actress and former NBA player. The campaign comes hand in hand with Cann's launch of a new holiday bundle, which includes its product with Hudson's King Street Vodka. Davis and Hudson are also Cann investors. Cheddar cannabis reporter Chloe Aiello spoke to Davis about his involvement with the company and its new campaign.
