3 Comments
User's avatar
Erik Abel's avatar

Love it Jake! 100% agree. I shared similar sentiments and also some of the remaining hurdles that reside - would be curious of your thoughts (See article https://substack.com/@erikabel/note/p-154002340)

Expand full comment
Jake Kelly MD's avatar

Erik - I read your very thoughtful and thorough real world experience into the Hidden Costs of Free Preventive Care. Agree wholeheartedly and I try not to get discouraged by the negatives of Medicine (cost, lack of transparency and difficulty reconciling medical billing errors among others). However, posts like yours help everyone understand a little bit more. I encourage everyone to write your local, state and federal representatives as well as insurance companies to express your desires and frustrations.

Expand full comment
James Smoliga, DVM, PhD's avatar

Great advice!

One of my best friends got diagnosed with Stagve IV colon cancer at the age of 47. He tried to keep a positive attitude, but his last 1.5 years of life were really challening. Lots of trips to the ER.

I know the NordICC trial has caused a bit of controversy in the world of colon cancer screening, but it sounds like, at the individual-level it's still quite valuable, and we need to get better population-level adherence to make a positive impact.

Hopefully, more personal stories like your can improve the general public's willingness to get screened and prevent a potentially deadly disease.

Expand full comment