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."
The 2022 Masters Tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, and one of golf's most iconic players is set to return to Augusta National, just 14 months after a devastating car accident. In a press conference, Tiger Woods told reporters that not only is he planning to play in the tournament, but that he also thinks he can win. Cam Rogers, national sports betting and golf analyst, and host of 'Lock It In'
for the Bleav Podcast Network, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks closed Thursday at session lows to end the month of March, posting their worst quarter since the pandemic crash of 2020. However, March was the first positive of 2022. MJP Wealth Advisors President Brian Vendig joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Ron Carson, CEO and Founder of Carson Wealth, sits down with Cheddar's Hena Doba to share how he uses physical fitness as one of the pillars of his formula for success.
Julie Simon, the founder of Julie Simon Cakes, joined Cheddar News to discuss her transformation from media executive to confectionary artist, building her company, the inspiration behind her designs, and why so many celebrities love buying her cakes. “I'm looking to create a sense of wonder, that feeling you had when you were a child and you're watching fireworks and you just thought, 'is this the grand finale?'” she said.
Brooklyn Decker joined Cheddar News to talk about the upcoming final episode of the comedy "Grace and Frankie" on Netflix. "So many tears. I knew it would be emotional. I was not expecting the level of sadness and longing and appreciation, and it was just so intense and beautiful," she said. "And we all hugged. We all broke COVID protocol.” The actor and model also spoke of her partnership with allergy medication ZYRTEC and American Forests ReLeaf program to help plant trees.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 6, 2022, with updates on the FDA’s meeting to discuss a second COVID booster shot, more on the war in Ukraine, tornadoes on the Gulf coast, a third suspect arrested in connection to the mass shooting in California, Darwin’s lost notebooks mysteriously returned, and more.
