What We’re Reading: 03/12/21

A few highlights from around the web that made it into our feeds this week.

Yearly Lung Cancer Scans Are Advised for People 50 and Over With Shorter Smoking Histories

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death across the board—in men and women—accounting for nearly 25 percent of all cancer deaths. Each and every year, more Americans die of lung cancer than colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined. That’s why it’s so important The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of national experts in medicine, has initiated a long overdue update to lung screening guidelines.

The new guidelines lower the age when screening should start, to 50 from 55, and reduces the smoking history to 20 years, from 30. A change that will nearly double the number of people eligible for annual screenings. (From nytimes.com)

Unlocking the Mysteries of Long COVID

“What people need to know is the pandemic’s toll is likely much higher than we are imagining.”

Covid recovery is no monolith; for many, it’s a long and arduous road. There is still so much we don’t yet know about Covid’s long-term effects. The impact of mild, moderate, and severe cases varies immensely. Some with no known health problems report significant ongoing symptoms while others with ongoing health concerns have recovered fully. This article brilliantly weaves the work of medical teams with stories of recovering patients as they push for answers in the treatment of long Covid. A must-read. (From theatlantic.com)

A year into the pandemic, strangers find healing in their shared grief

The seemingly endless millions of us who have lost loved ones to Covid are left searching for ways to grieve in isolation, to begin healing. All while reckoning with our new reality as the pandemic marches on. It’s no simple task. In fact, it’s so complex that the term “prolonged grief disorder” will soon officially enter the DSM-5, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. What’s beautiful here is how profoundly the article explores collective anguish by reflecting our shared humanity, the solidarity of strangers in crisis. “Grief needs to be witnessed.” (From nationalgeographic.com)

We’re closing out with a treat of our own—

How to Tie Knots Like a Heart Surgeon with Dr. Craig Smith

While this is geared toward the surgical community, who doesn’t want to be lulled to a tranquil state with a knot tying tutorial by Dr. Craig Smith. It’s fascinating and soothing all in one if we do say so ourselves.

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