BACK of the BOOK
Heard in the Blogosphere
Logistic Toxicity
Aside from treatment toxicities and financial toxicity, cancer patients
must also deal with “logistic toxicity,” or the administrative burden of
health care. Processing medical bills, filling out paperwork, coordinating frequent medical appointments — these additional responsibilities
compound the physical and financial toll of the disease. Patients and
physicians describe the common, but unmeasured problem, in Forbes.
“If you consider all the forms, the administrative burden is tremendous. Billing errors, or problems with coding, result in hundreds and
thousands of dollars in costs that are avoidable. The concept of
‘logistic toxicity’ makes a great deal of sense. Cost is one problem,
but by no means is that the only challenge. Like ‘financial toxicity,’ it
influences patients’ well-being, time at work, and leisure.”
—Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, medical oncologist at Duke University
“I’m concerned about the burden the health-care system places on
people with cancer. A cancer diagnosis is overwhelming enough, without having to add the myriad of logistical difficulties of coordinating
with insurance and with multiple providers who don’t talk to each
other. Patients have to be able to advocate for themselves, but that’s
a lot to ask of someone who is going through treatment.”
—Shelley Fuld Nasso, chief executive officer of
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
Is Science Broken?
Given the
onslaught of
recent retractions
in high-profile
scientific journals,
FiveThirtyEight
spoke with
scientists about
the problems
hounding
science, finding
that science isn’t
broken – it’s just
a lot harder than
people give it
credit for.
“Science is great, but it’s low-yield.
Most experiments fail. That doesn’t
mean the challenge isn’t worth it,
but we can’t expect every dollar
to turn a positive result. Most
of the things you try don’t work
out — that’s just the nature of the
process.”
“With cancer, this monster takes hold of you, and you let things go.
When you’re thinking about cancer, especially stage 4, certain things
jus