Essential News

A new law sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Laura Murphy of Des Plaines requires insurance companies to cover an MRI if a patient is diagnosed with dense breast tissue, which can be an indicator of cancer. "Early detection is a key element in the fight against breast cancer," Murphy said in a news release. "By requiring insurance companies to cover MRIs in patients with dense breast tissue, we are arming doctors with another tool to help them detect breast cancer sooner." Studies show that

CMS finally released guidance for DMEPOS suppliers for handling patients that have had DMEPOS items destroyed due to both hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The Medicare-enrolled supplier does NOT need to gather new documentation to prove the medical need such as the order, office visit, etc. The enrolled supplier is allowed to dispense a new DME item such as oxygen equipment, CPAP machine, hospital bed, wheelchair, prosthetic limb, etc. without having to get a new order and new office visit. Here

After Hurricane Harvey surged into the Texas coast, it left a plague of floodwaters and destruction. HME providers continue their efforts to ensure patients get the equipment and supplies they need. Thankfully, those in the HME industry have always been there for one another, and it’s no different now. “It’s heartening to see the outpouring of support from the membership community,” said Clint Geffert, a native Texan and president of VGM & Associates at VGM Group, Inc.

As Hurricane Irma surges towards the coast of Florida, providers in the wake of Hurricane Harvey continue efforts to serve thousands of patients in need, all while trying to recover from the Category 4 hurricane that dumped more than 50 inches of rain over Houston.   Bob Rodriguez, VGM’s regional account manager for Texas, and Collin Brecher from VGM Government Relations, have been visiting with members to capture some of their plights and collect stories of what, at times, were herculean

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first 2D digital mammography system that allows patients to increase or decrease the amount of compression applied to their own breast before the mammogram x-ray is taken. "Regular mammograms are an important tool in detecting breast cancer," said Alberto Gutierrez, Ph.D., director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "However, some patients may experience

Most women go through menopause as a natural part of the aging process, at about age 51 on average -- some sooner, some later. But if you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause, some treatments could bring on menopause earlier and more abruptly than expected. Hormonal therapy medicines, such as tamoxifen and the aromatase inhibitors, also can cause or make menopausal symptoms worse. Hormonal therapy medicines are taken after surgery by women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive

An analysis of data collected as part of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) trial has found that postmenopausal women who use vaginal estrogen have the same risk of invasive breast cancer, stroke, blood clots, endometrial cancer, and colorectal cancer as women who don’t use vaginal estrogen. The research was published online on Aug. 14, 2017 by the journal Menopause. Read the abstract of “Breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and cardiovascular events in participants who used vaginal

Several large studies, including a review by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in 2009 and a study on the causes of death in the United Kingdom in 2013, have questioned the value of screening mammograms. Doctors who question the value of mammograms say that while mammograms do save lives, for each breast cancer death prevented, three to four women are overdiagnosed. Overdiagnosis means either: a screening mammogram finds a suspicious area that would have been eventually diagnosed as

A class of drugs known as CDK4/6 inhibitors, which have been approved for treating some types of breast cancer, may have much more to offer than previously thought. Not only can they stop tumors from growing by halting cell division, but they can also "spur the immune system to attack and shrink" them. This was the main finding of a new study from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston, MA, the results of which have been published in the journal

It sounds counterintuitive, but a new study shows that the side effects of a chemotherapy drug may enable breast cancer to spread. Breast cancer survival rates have consistently been improving in recent years, and much of the progress is due to the effectiveness of chemotherapy. However, previous studies have suggested that a chemotherapy treatment in breast cancer may have a counterintuitive effect, instead raising the risk of metastasis. Earlier this year, one such study showed that