A recent Mikey Headline reads:

It’s Hard to Treat Brain Cancer at the Emergency Room

My first thought was, maybe Mikey shouldn’t distract brain surgeons, like, uh, Gupta, from doing their work. But I suppos ehe wouldn’t do the work anyway cuz theres still no health coverage to pay him:

August 31st, 2007

ATLANTA, Aug. 30 — In a stark departure from past practice, the American Cancer Society plans to devote its entire $15 million advertising budget this year not to smoking cessation or colorectal screening but to the consequences of inadequate health coverage.

The campaign was born of the group’s frustration that cancer rates are not dropping as rapidly as hoped, and of recent research linking a lack of insurance to delays in detecting malignancies.

Sounds all fine and dandy. I expect once everything is free, everyone will have the mandatory regular free checkups done, without exception and always on time.

One study published this year found that uninsured breast cancer patients were more than twice as likely to have their cancer diagnosed in late stages as those with private insurance. Other studies have found similar results with cancers of the larynx and mouth.

“The truth is we know what’s going to happen with cancer if we don’t intervene,” Mr. Seffrin said. “It will become the leading cause of death in the world, needlessly.”

“… Canada, Cuba and the EU excepted.”