Clinical Trials Need Our Help

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Jul 22, 2024

A Good Day To Advocate for Better Healthcare

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Clinical Trials Need Help

I have a little familiarity with clinical trails. When my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, that was her only shot. Dead in a month or a clinical trial. She chose the trial and got to live for 6 months.

A friend with whom I worked for years developed uterine cancer. Her brother, a physician, found a clinical trial for her. She is about 30 years cancer free.

Clinical trials allow patients to access the latest treatments and groundbreaking medical technology. All patients, no matter where they live or how much money they make, should have this opportunity.

H. R. 8412, The Clinical Trial Modernization Act, allows sponsors of clinical trials to cover costs that allow more patients to participate, including transportation, lodging, and more. The bill also facilitates more opportunities to participate remotely so some patients wouldn’t even have to travel and encourages under represented population participation. All good things.

Action

Let’s let our Member of Congress know that opening the doors for participation in medical trials can be critical for so many with deadly illnesses and that expanding the trial population will only produce better results.

You can reach them here, https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials. You can use and modify the script below if you like.

Or use RESISTBOT via [Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER] or by texting SIGN PLNYJD to 50409 on your cell phone to send that message to your Senators.

“I am your constituent and I want you to know that expanding the population in clinical trials can offer hope to those who need it most and can offer better medical solutions for all of us. I want you to cosponsor and support H. R. 8412, The Clinical Trial Modernization Act. Here is a link to the bill, https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8412. Thank you.”

EXTRA CREDIT ACTION

The American Cancer Society asks that you sign their petition to Congress supporting H. R. 8412, The Clinical Trial Modernization Act. It will take you less than a minute with their easy action form. Here is the link to the Petition.

Cognitive Tests - Early Dementia Predictor?

We have heard a lot about cognition tests recently. I had to go to the ED a little while ago and since it was in a teaching hospital and my illness was related to vision, students came by to test my cognition to see if there had been a stroke. I could tell time, I knew the day and date, and who was the president.

A new robust test has just been made available to doctors that can indicate whether a person is likely to experience impairment down stream. (Oxford Academic)

Researchers estimate that more than 55 million people around the world live with dementia. Dementia is an umbrella term for diseases affecting a person’s abilities to remember, think, and communicate. Currently, the most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.

A research team from Murdoch University in Western Australia have developed a new test where people self-report their concerns in six different cognitive areas - such as memory, concentration, and language - to help determine a person’s dementia risk.

Their findings were published in the journal Age and Ageing.

To develop this new screening test called the McCusker Subjective Cognitive Impairment Inventory (McSCI), the team focused on measuring a person’s subjective cognitive decline.

Subjective cognitive decline is when a person self-reports worsening brain functions such as memory loss, confusion, and thinking.

Previous studies have correlated subjective cognitive decline to a higher risk for mild cognitive impairment and dementia, as well as Alzheimer’s disease progression.

The screening test is a 46-item, self-reporting questionnaire that allows a person to address their concerns in six cognitive areas: memory, language, orientation, attention and concentration, visuoconstruction abilities, and executive function.

They found the screening tool can identify individuals with above-average levels of subjective cognitive decline with a 99.9% accuracy. The survey is designed to be open access, allowing it to be used by doctors and researchers at no cost.

The researchers are continuing their data collection are building an online and App version.

The questions are here. Best if used with a professional.

In Case You Forgot About Republicans and Reproductive Rights

J.D. Vance, the Republican VP candidate is an anti-abortion extremist.

Last year, after a proposed privacy rule to protect women in a post-Roe America, Vance began pressuring regulators to let police access the records of people who cross state lines for abortions.

Let’s remember that abortion care is healthcare.

Many factors influence or necessitate a woman’s decision to have an abortion. They include but are not limited to rape, incest, intimate partner violence, fetal anomalies, and illness during pregnancy. Pregnancy complications, including placental abruption, bleeding from placenta previa, preeclampsia or eclampsia, and cardiac or renal conditions, may be so severe that abortion is the only measure to preserve a woman’s health, fertility or save her life.

Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the number of women traveling across state lines for abortion care has drastically increased, with nearly 171,300 patients traveling out of state for care last year, compared to 73,100 in 2019.

Vance’s anti-abortion stance perfectly aligns with the fascist Project 2025 doctrine. It's clear that a Trump-Vance ticket will lead to a national abortion ban and criminalize women seeking essential health care.

Remember this when you vote. And make sure to vote for reproductive rights and democracy.

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.

If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org