Late on a September afternoon in 2016, I was driving back from a business meeting when I received a disturbing phone call from my physician’s office. They told me they would help me locate a new physician since mine had passed away.
For the past 40 years, I have been talking to journalists about research. Often, it has been at a press conference being arranged by the organizers of a national or international meeting. I have also frequently been asked for my opinions about a research study carried out by someone else.
The cost of care during the last month of a cancer patient's life varied by as much as 90% depending on where the patient lived, an analysis of more than 1,000 cases showed. Average expenditures during the last month of life ranged from about $10,000 in some areas to more than $19,000 in others.
St. Luke’s Health System is now screening all patients for depression and suicide during their regular check-ups with primary care physicians and clinics.