"I need to breathe" — Living with Asthma: Patient Experiences, Old Challenges, New Drugs By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH Earlier this month, the American Lung Association (ALA), Inspire’s partner for the “Living with Asthma” online community, announced that it is looking for patient panelists to participate in a PFDD (Patient-Focused Drug [...]
Out of Nowhere: Kidney Cancer By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH Of the estimated 1.9 million cancers diagnosed each year in the US, around 4 percent are kidney cancers, the most common are renal cell carcinomas (RCC). Around 76,000 new cases will occur in the US in 2021, 48,0000 in men and [...]
The Kidney Cancer Support Community on Inspire By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH Of the over 1 million cancers diagnosed each year in the US, around 3 percent are kidney cancers.1 This relatively rare cancer is twice as likely to develop in men as women. Around 73,000 new cases will occur in [...]
Genetic testing: What patients and caregivers understand and value By Richard Tsai There’s been an explosion of information about genes, genetics and genomics since completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003. Stories about remissions achieved through pharmacogenomics and immunotherapy and disease risk factors identified through genetic testing fill both [...]
First Breast Cancer “Durable Regression” with Immunotherapy: Judy Perkins, Inspire member By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD MSPH On June 4, 2015, Holly Kitchen, a young mom with metastatic breast cancer, published a video that received over 46 million views in one week. Its message? “Metastatic breast cancer has no cure.”1 Exactly three years [...]
Inspire posts forward medical research in adverse drug reactions, new study shows Over 2 million injuries, hospitalizations and deaths in the US each year are associated with post-approval adverse drug reactions (ADRs).1 The usual method of gathering ADR data is through provider reporting. Research suggests that health care providers tend to under-report [...]
What Do Patients and Caregivers Know about Immunotherapy? Inspire’s Immunotherapy Awareness and Perceptions Survey According to a 2012 study, patient activation means “having the knowledge, skills, and confidence to manage one’s health.” The study confirmed that better health outcomes are typically associated with greater patient knowledge and activation.1 As the field of [...]
