Opinion
- Details
- Written by: Seema Verma
Each year, more than 250,000 women in the United States learn that they have breast cancer, and more than 20,000 find out they have ovarian cancer.
While most of these cancers happen randomly, about 5 to 10 percent are hereditary, meaning they are caused by genetic changes (called mutations) which are passed down in families.
Unfortunately, women with these inherited cancers have few treatment options.
That’s why the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently extended Medicare coverage to laboratory diagnostic tests using next-generation sequencing (NGS) for patients with inherited breast or ovarian cancer.
NGS testing gives a more complete profile of cancer cells than is possible with current tests and may help identify proven, targeted treatments.
NGS tests provide the most comprehensive genetic analysis of a patient’s cancer because they can simultaneously detect multiple types of genetic alterations. CMS first began covering laboratory diagnostic tests using NGS in March 2018 for Medicare patients with advanced cancer that met specific criteria. With CMS’ recent coverage decision, more Medicare patients will have access to NGS to assist in managing other types of inherited cancers to reduce mortality and improve health outcomes.
Innovative technologies are transforming American medicine, and CMS is closely monitoring the rapid development of new tests and tools for diagnosing cancer. We want to do everything we can to support women’s health and help patients get the care they need.
In addition to providing access to this testing for women, Medicare also covers testing for prostate cancer.
All men are at risk for prostate cancer. Out of every 100 American men, about 13 will get prostate cancer during their lifetimes, and two or three men will die from it.
The most common risk factor is age. The older a man is, the greater his chance of getting prostate cancer.
Some men are at increased risk for prostate cancer. You’re at increased risk for getting or dying from prostate cancer if you’re African-American or have a family history of prostate cancer.
Medicare Part B covers digital rectal exams and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests once every 12 months for men over 50 (beginning the day after your 50th birthday).
Beneficiaries pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for a yearly digital rectal exam and for physician services related to the exam. The Part B deductible ($198 in 2020) applies. In a hospital outpatient setting, there’s also a copayment.
Beneficiaries pay nothing for a yearly PSA blood test. If you get the test from a doctor who doesn’t accept Medicare payment, you may have to pay an additional fee for the doctor’s services, but not for the test itself.
In 2018, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force made the following recommendations about prostate cancer screening:
Men who are 55 to 69 years old should make individual decisions about being screened for prostate cancer with a PSA test.
Before making a decision, men should talk to their doctor about the benefits and harms of screening for prostate cancer, including the benefits and harms of other tests and treatment.
Men who are 70 years old or older should not be screened for prostate cancer routinely.
September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the many preventive screening services that Medicare offers for cancer and other diseases, at https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services.
Seema Verma is the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
- Details
- Written by: Jackee Riccio
Cartel-operated trespass cannabis grows are toxic dumps in remote, pristine habitats. They divert streams to the point of depletion, use EPA-banned pesticides that poison wildlife, water, and soil, and leave tons of trash in sensitive ecosystems. They contain plastic irrigation lines, strewn trash, makeshift water reservoirs, propane tanks, primitive camps, and planted cannabis, especially in burn scars or other exposed habitats.
The issue of trespass grows has flown under the radar for years. Hidden away, illicit growers use banned pesticides to protect their plants, poisoning wildlife and users alike.
The northern population of Pacific fishers, a candidate species for the Endangered Species Act, or ESA, now tests over 80 percent positive for rodenticides (rat poisons) – a poison in heavy use at trespass grows.
Northern Spotted Owls – an ESA-listed species – test 70 percent positive for the same poisons. Even game species have tested positive, including mule deer. Incredibly, trespass growers will even bait fishing hooks with poisoned meat to kill foraging wildlife.
The amount of wildlife poisoned by pesticides shows how it has bioaccumulated through the food web, leading to major ecosystem implications. Furthermore, those toxics are sometimes weaponized by growers to target law enforcement, and can readily poison unsuspecting hikers. Until recently, it was “out of sight, out of mind.” That is now over.
Federal appropriations requests for reclamation and prevention championed by Congressmen Huffman (CD-2) and LaMalfa (CD-1) are now under review in Congress, and will hopefully be approved in the coming months. The requests could mean as much as $25 million a year to address this seemingly intractable problem.
A further request was submitted under the COVID-19 stimulus plan for “shovel ready” projects, which includes reclamation. If approved, the reclamation funding would: (1) provide economic opportunity for Northern California’s rural, economically disadvantaged communities, keeping the funding and jobs local; (2) increase USFS law enforcement on California’s federal lands to preclude new grows from being established, and (3) prioritize tribal reclamation partners, furthering their participation in the management and cleanup of their ancestral territory and protection of cultural resources.
The Cannabis Removal On Public Lands, or CROP Project, working to address this issue since 2017, significantly raised the profile of this issue through national press in 2019 and has been integral to congressional action.
True to its bipartisan nature, CROP is a broad-based coalition of scientists, elected county officials, conservation interests, state and federal agencies, tribes, the legal cannabis industry, and USFS law enforcement.
Now, CROP’s mission to remove and prevent trespass grows is bearing fruit and presenting an opportunity for regional collaboration between diverse, and sometimes polarized, interests to reclaim public lands.
The CROP Project, now expanding out of the Emerald Triangle into Siskiyou, Shasta and Lassen counties, looks forward to working with interests to solve this problem.
In the meantime, hikers and recreational users of California’s public lands need to exercise extreme caution should they come across a trespass grow. Public land users that stumble upon a trespass grow should immediately and discretely leave the scene, preferably going out the same way you came in (most growers are armed).
Remember the location of the site, and immediately report it to 1-888-334-CALTIP (888-334-2258), the anonymous environmental crime tip-line for CDFW.
To learn more about CROP, or how to support us, please visit www.cropproject.org .
Jackee Riccio is the regional field director for the CROP Project, and resides in Humboldt County, California.
- Details
- Written by: Dave McQueen
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – If you’ve ever considered running for the school board, now’s your chance.
The Kelseyville Unified School District board has three vacancies and we’re looking for strong, qualified candidates who are passionate about education and willing to volunteer for a four-year term to help students reach their potential. Any registered voter who lives in the district can apply.
The role of a school board member is to set the vision for the school district as well as providing financial oversight for the use of taxpayer dollars.
The California School Board Association names five core responsibilities: Setting direction; establishing an effective and efficient structure; providing support; ensuring accountability; providing community leadership as advocates for children, the school district and public schools.
Authority is granted to the board as a whole, not each member individually. Therefore, board members fulfill these responsibilities by working together as a governance team with the superintendent to make decisions that will best serve all the students in the community.
In Kelseyville, board members meet for regular meetings once a month, but additional meetings are often required as issues arise. Truth is, this is a tough job, but for the right person, it’s a rewarding one.
Although board members do not deal with the daily operations of a school district – things like hiring and firing personnel or creating class schedules – they do set the policies we depend on to make good operational decisions.
It really does take a special person to be a school board member, someone who isn’t afraid to stand up for what they believe and who understands they can’t always please everyone.
Kelseyville is a diverse community; it’s one of our greatest strengths, but it can also make it hard to be an elected official.
If you’re not scared away by now, you might have what it takes. Here are some details.
To get on the ballot, a candidate must submit the filing fee the following completed forms to the Lake County Registrar of Voters through Aug. 7: declaration of candidacy, statement of economic interests and candidate’s statement of qualifications.
The statement of economic Interests discloses a candidate’s investments, interests in real estate and any income received in the last 12 months.
The statement of qualifications allows candidates to write up to 200 words about their qualifications (note: it must be filed at the same time as the declaration of candidacy).
A handbook with all the details is available from the Lake County Registrar of Voters. If you have specific questions, their helpful clerks can be reached at 707-263-2372.
I’d love to meet with anyone thinking about running to answer any questions you may have and share information about our district. You can schedule an appointment with me by calling the District Office at 707-279-1511.
If you’d like to connect with current Kelseyville Unified board members, you can find their emails on our website.
Dave McQueen is the superintendent of Kelseyville Unified School District.
- Details
- Written by: Anna Rose Ravenwoode
The results are demonstrations in our streets and some cities on fire, as people protest racial inequality, police brutality, low wages, lack of economic opportunities and reduced funding for education.
As most Americans, I watched the video of George Floyd dying on the street in Minneapolis, handcuffed, with four police officers holding him down. I cried because of the racial injustice of it. But this went beyond a white police officer killing a black man. The scene reminded me of Nazi Germany, where soldiers without a conscience casually snuffed out the lives of millions of Jews, Catholics, blacks and homosexuals.
Regardless of race, the murder in Minneapolis was the brazen lack of compassion by one human being for another.
So where does America go from here? What would compassion in our country look like?
When a police officer takes a knee in unity with peace protesters, they are showing compassion, because they are listening. And those officers have my respect.
When our elected federal officials raise taxes on wealthy Americans to provide a living wage for underpaid government workers; to support our education system and combat pollution … they will finally be listening.
When our local government promotes economic development to provide good paying jobs and opportunities for our young people ... they will finally be listening.
When we care enough about health care for others, as we do about such care for ourselves…. we will finally be listening.
When young people, who anxiously observe, how we are “trashing” our oceans, with no plan to address it ... They know we are not listening. Because in order to survive and provide a living planet for their children, they must clean up what irresponsible older generations, so nonchalantly discard.
As young people inherit a warming planet complete with dying animals, they are angry and crying out for action … and who is listening?
When local education officials (school superintendents and school boards), teachers and classified staff ask for more funding for underpaid workers; when school districts ask to hire more teachers, counselors and school nurses to address the pain of school children who cannot learn due to hunger, medical problems and turmoil at home … we need to listen.
When high school students who want to go to college or a vocational school, to further their education and become responsible, financially secure adults, we need to help them attain their dreams with generous grants and low interest loans. Therefore, we need to listen.
When our local government finally makes it a priority to increase taxes a little, to help others obtain a living wage; and be responsible for public services they have not fully provided … We need to listen and engage to support those priorities.
When corporations and small businesses take pride in providing a living wage to their employees (even if it means increasing their prices to do so) then they will finally be listening.
Asking for a living wage is not socialism. It is not a threat to capitalism. It is simply a request for people to be able to pay their bills and raise their families without living in poverty. And if you cannot hear that message by now … then you are not listening.
My heart is breaking for the many years of pain, racial, economic and educational inequality in America that has brought us to … today.
As Americans, we are faced with a choice. Do we care more about helping other Americans out of poverty, or do we care more about saving money?
Do we continue to turn a blind eye and deny the racial and gender hardships that exist? Or do we engage in the difficult conversations needed to overcome it.
It is not a weakness to communicate with compassion. And we have a growing list of police officers taking a knee, to show us the way.
Anna Rose Ravenwoode is a life-long educator who lives in Kelseyville, California.
How to resolve AdBlock issue?