Years After He Quit Smoking, a Lung Cancer Scan Saved His Life
Lung cancer screening saves lives, yet too many eligible patients—particularly former smokers who aren’t aware of their risk—remain unscreened. These disparities have been the focus of our Lung Cancer Screening Program here at Columbia too. Through one patient’s experience, this piece examines the persistent gaps in low-dose CT screening, current eligibility criteria complexities, and the growing case for expanding access as surgical advances and systemic therapy continue to improve outcomes. It is an important reminder that finding lung cancer early can change the entire course of the disease. (from nytimes.com)
The Genes That Could Cancel Out a Fatal Diagnosis
A genetic diagnosis can feel definitive, but this fascinating piece explores the growing evidence that other genes may alter, or even counteract, the effects of a disease-causing mutation. Through families living with Marfan syndrome, researchers are studying rare genetic outliers, examining how “modifier” genes could reveal new treatment targets and reshape our understanding of who develops disease, when, and how severely. Dusan Bogunovic, MD, director of the Center for Genetic Errors of Immunity at Columbia, explains why understanding these protective variations is essential to deciding when treatment is truly needed. It is a hopeful look at a future in which genetics may reveal the foundational relationships happening inside our bodies. (from theatlantic.com)
Rope-A-Dope
The Enhanced Games may present themselves as a provocation about sports, but the deeper questions here belong to medicine just as much. This fascinating article examines what happens when performance-enhancing drugs, longevity science, venture capital, and personal autonomy converge—and the language of treatment starts to blur with the wishful obsessions of human optimization. It is an equal parts thoughtful and unsettling look at evidence, risk, informed consent, and the commercial forces increasingly shaping how people understand what their bodies should be capable of. (from newyorker.com)
And now, some homegrown fiction!
In his first novel, "Stone Hearts", Craig R. Smith, MD, cardiac surgeon and former Chair of the Department of Surgery, builds a medical caper rooted in transplant, intrigue, and the peculiar moral weather that hovers above and beyond the hospital.
Follow along each Friday as we release the novel one chapter at a time. You can also see more on Dr. Smith's Substack, Long Incision.
But without further ado, Chapter One: Eva.
Related:
- Decoding Immunity with Computation
- State of the Union: The Stealth Innovations of Modern Surgical Care
- Dr AI: Can ChatGPT Step Up To the Medical Challenge?