Abortion, Pharma, Cancer, Oh My!

A free public service for a better community

May 22, 2024

A Good Day To Advocate for Better Healthcare

If there are subjects you’d like to see or improvements made, please let me know using the comment button below. Most of today’s newsletter is from Big Tent.

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Maternal Mortality (Sigh)

An article was just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers were investigating maternal cardiovascular health Post Dobbs. That is, after sending abortion rights (or lack) back to the states.

They identify maternal cardiac issues as one of the key contributors to maternal mortality - which by they way is well over 30 deaths/100,000 live births compared to nations that have universal health care where it is between 4 and 10.

The article has information about better training for clinicians to be able to deal with cardiac issues in a maternal setting. Good. However, I was struck by this chart.

It lists maternal deaths/100,000 live births. Pay attention to states that have restrictive abortion policies. Those numbers are generally much higher because doctors won’t intervene with a life saving abortion in the face of cardiac events.

KEEP IN MIND THAT GERMANY’s MATERNAL DEATH RATE IS 4.4/100,000, JAPAN is 4/100,000 and FRANCE is 7.9/100,000, U.K. is 9.8/100,000.

Industrialized countries around the world have lower numbers than we do. The two lowest in the US are California - 10/100,000 and Rhode Island - 11/100,000.

Here is a link to the table of maternal death over time for most countries.

The authors of the article point to an unwillingness to abort when a mother is suffering cardiac issues as a result of pregnancy and a lack of training of providers to identify those problems.

Here’s another solution - restore the right to abortion nationwide.

PS See the resources section below if abortion contacts or info are needed and please share.

ACTION

Use RESISTBOT to tell your Senators and Congressperson and the President - enough is enough. Text SIGN PVGEAG to 50409 to send this message. You can call/email them if you wish and contact info is at https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

“I just learned that maternal death rates per 100,000 live births in most of the industrialized world is in the single digits. The average in the US is over 30 deaths/100,000 live births. Most of these women do not have to die. Cardiac issues are the leading cause of maternal death and frequently an abortion is called for to save her life. I want you to restore the right to an abortion so that more of these women have a chance to live. I want you to openly and loudly support the Women’s Health Protection Act over and over and over and then make sure it passes to restore a right to an abortion nationwide. Killing women needlessly is not a cultural value.”

GSK Accused of Hiding Dangerous Effects of Drug

GSK has been sued by an independent Connecticut laboratory that accused the drugmaker of defrauding the U.S. government and taxpayers by concealing cancer risks in Zantac, once a blockbuster heartburn drug. In a whistleblower complaint filed on Monday, Valisure said GSK violated the federal False Claims Act by hiding the risks for nearly four decades while Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs covered billions of dollars of prescriptions. Not to mention all the people who developed cancer. Zantac is no longer on the market, (Reuters). I used to take it for urticaria, now my doctor told me to take famotidine.

Hormone Related Cancers - New Data

Johnson and Johnson has been involved in a variety of lawsuits related to cancers that have occurred in people who have used baby powder that contained talc.

As of May 1, 2024, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is proposing to pay $6.5 billion over 25 years to resolve nearly all talc ovarian cancer lawsuits in the U.S.. This is the company's third attempt to settle the lawsuits, following previous efforts in 2021 and 2023 that were rejected by judges. The new proposal will require approval from tens of thousands of people suing the company.

Now a new study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and published on May 15, 2024, has found a positive association between the intimate (genital) use of talc products and ovarian cancer. This was especially the case when such products were used in young adulthood. Breast and uterine cancers had not association.

Diabetes in the US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 38.4 million people had diabetes in 2021 — 29.7 million people with diagnosed cases and an estimated 8.7 million undiagnosed — or 11.6% of the US population. The CDC estimates that 22.8% of adults with diabetes are undiagnosed, meaning they meet lab criteria for the disease but were not aware of it or did not report having diabetes.

Another 97.6 million adults, or 38.0% of the adult population, are estimated to have prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetes.

What Is It?

Insulin is a vital hormone for processing blood sugar to either provide energy or store it for later. Diabetes is a chronic health condition that impacts insulin production and changes the body’s ability to regulate sugars in the bloodstream. The primary forms of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes.

With Type 1 the body produces too little insulin. This affects 5% to 10% of diabetics.

With Type 2 cells in the body develop a resistance to insulin over many years, reducing the insulin’s effectiveness and making it harder to regulate blood sugar levels. Type 2 diagnoses account for 90% to 95% of all people with diabetes. It can be prevented or delayed with diet, exercise, and weight loss.

Gestational diabetes is a unique form of the disease developed by women who are pregnant. Gestational diabetes can be managed by monitoring blood sugar levels, eating healthfully, and being active, and it usually disappears after birth.

Summary:

Most (90 + %) instances of diabetes are type 2. Many of those are developed as a result of environmental factors. Diet and exercise can help. Here is a link to a WebMD article on how a vegan diet can help

It can be reversed for many people. Vegan is not easy but is known to work.

Resources

Find My Elected Officials

Contact State and Federal Representatives - phone and email

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Healthcare Advocacy (Us) Website

Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare - Healthcare Advocacy Reading List

Important Healthcare Resources

League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit

Organizations to Contact

National Nurses United Medicare4All

Physicians for a National Health Program

One Payer States

Healthcare Now

Reproductive Health

NARAL - Pro Choice America

Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion

Planned Parenthood

Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.

United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.

Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.