Daily Rounds: Cancer-Survivor Nation; Coffee-Drinking Women Lower Stroke Risk; Health Connector Satisfaction

Number of Cancer Survivors in U.S. Rises by 20% in 6 years - NYTimes.com About one in every 20 adults in the United States has survived cancer, including nearly one-fifth of all people over 65, according to new federal data. The numbers, released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, indicated that the number of cancer survivors increased by about 20 percent in just six years, to 11.7 million in 2007, the latest year for which figures were analyzed, from 9.8 million in 2001. In 1971, the number of cancer survivors was three million. “There’s still a concept that cancer is a death sentence,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control. But, he said, “for many people with cancer there’s a need for them and their families and caregivers to recognize that this is a stage. They can live a long and healthy life.” (nytimes.com)

Coffee may reduce stroke risk - USATODAY.com Drinking coffee appears to offer protection against stroke, a major study of women concludes. Women in the study who drank more than a cup of coffee a day had a 22% to 25% lower risk of stroke than those who drank less, according to findings reported Thursday in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the USA, behind heart disease and cancer.Swedish researcher Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm followed 34,670 women ages 49-83 for an average of 10 years. (yourlife.usatoday.com)

Health Connector patients mostly satisfied with service - The Boston Globe The first survey of consumers who receive subsidized health insurance through the state’s Health Connector shows most give it high marks, according to results released yesterday by the Connector Authority. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed said they were pleased with the range of services covered and the quality of care available, and 82 percent had similar feelings about their choice of doctors. The survey found, however, that some members did encounter problems. For instance, 31 percent said that over the past year they were told by a provider that their type of insurance was not accepted, and 23 percent said they were told that a doctor’s office was not accepting new patients. (boston.com)

Obama speaks out at White House bullying conference - latimes.com President Obama 'fessed up Thursday morning that, as a young student, he was involved in bullying. As a victim, that is. "I have to say, with big ears and the name that I have, I wasn't immune.  I didn't emerge unscathed," he told teachers, parents and government officials assembled for the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. The president showed off several anti-bullying efforts under way in Washington, including the new website stopbullying.gov and initiatives by the Department of Education to get anti-bullying programs up and running in schools.  (In a nod to the growing menace of cyber-bullying, Facebook joined in too, announcing new social networking tools to help victims report when they've been attacked.) (Los Angeles Times)