Maggie is an editor for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) and produces written, video, and podcast content covering several disease states. She joined AJMC® in 2019, and has been with AJMC®’s parent company, MJH Life Sciences®, since 2014, when she started as a copy editor.
She has a BA in English from Penn State University. You can connect with Maggie on LinkedIn.
How Does Cardiotoxicity Present Itself in Patients With Cancer?
June 12th 2020Three abstracts presented at this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology focused on cardiotoxic effects of cancer treatment and how cardiac disease remains a barrier to effective cancer therapy among patients with cancer and survivors.
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High-Dose Chemo Most Benefits Patients With High-Risk Breast Cancer
June 11th 2020A 20-year follow-up comprising a secondary analysis to an original study shows that high-dose chemotherapy plus hematopoietic stem cell transplant benefit patients with high-risk stage III disease with 10 or more axillary lymph nodes involved.
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Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer Show Decreased Brain Health, Cognitive Function
June 8th 2020Previous studies show that up to 75% of women with breast cancer exhibit disease- and treatment-related affects that include poorer cognitive function in the forms of psychological well-being, decision making, and adherence to treatment.
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Palliative Care Linked to Fewer Hospitalizations Among Veterans With Heart Failure
June 6th 2020There could be a 46% spike in the incidence of heart failure in the United States by 2030, bringing the total to more than 8 million adults living with the condition and an approximate $69.6 billion hit to the economy.
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Possible Link Found Between Recent HIV Results, Testing-Related Behavior
June 3rd 2020There was a 6% increase from 2005 to 2014 in new HIV diagnoses among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, according to the CDC and study results published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and 1 in 6 is estimated to test positive for the disease at some point in his lifetime.
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Burris: United With Our Patients, We Do Accelerate Progress Together
May 30th 2020"Our patients are the reasons we do what we do. They are the reason we do the work," said outgoing ASCO President Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FASCO, FACP, during his opening address on the second day of this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology conference.
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Does Gut Microbiota Influence Outcomes Among People With HIV?
May 29th 2020The life expectancy of a person living with HIV is approaching that of the general, seronegative population. However, changes to the bacterial environment of the intestinal tract combined with age-associated noncommunicable diseases can lead to chronic inflammation and higher rates of death.
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Lack of Health Literacy Linked to Poor Outcomes Among Patients With Heart Failure
May 28th 2020Heart failure is a complicated disease to manage, requiring coordination of these outcomes-related measurements: weight, blood pressure, glycemic index, and medication and diet adherence. Close to half of all patients do not reach the 5-year survival mark after the condition is diagnosed.
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Long-Term Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer Increases Following a Diagnosis of DCIS
May 28th 2020In the 2 decades following their diagnosis for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), women in a study out of England demonstrated a greater risk of invasive breast cancer and mortality compared with the general population. Overall, DCIS represents close to 20% of screening-detected breast cancers every year.
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Cardiovascular Disease Has Less of an Impact on Women, Study Shows
May 27th 2020To aid in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD), women are more likely to use preventive measures while men are typically treated with surgical interventions. Women are also less likely to die from CVD than men, according to recent study results published in The Lancet.
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Women Frequently Encounter Employment, Insurance Issues After Breast Cancer Diagnosis
May 24th 2020A majority of women younger than 45 years faced employment and insurance coverage difficulties following treatment for early stage breast cancer, with 35% fearing loss of health insurance coverage if they left their current job during treatment—despite wanting to continue working.
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How Does the Risk of HIV-1 Increase With Female Genital Schistosomiasis Infection?
May 22nd 2020Schistosomiasis is the world’s second deadliest parasitic disease, and it can be linked to contaminated freshwater, with a majority of infections resulting from 3 types of bacteria: Schistosoma mansoni, S haematobium, or S japonicum. It is also a proposed factor for increasing the risk of HIV-1 infection in women.
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Collaboration Leads to Clinical Pathways Success for One Illinois Practice
May 22nd 2020Cancer Care Specialists of Illinois was able to reduce its median total drug spend by a notable 13.5%—$250,000 per medical oncologist—versus other practices enrolled in the Oncology Care Model, between the first quarters of 2017 and 2019, through the use of evidence-based clinical pathways.
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Heart Failure Coverage Success Seen in Medicaid Expansion States
May 21st 2020Being uninsured carries with it a host of adverse health consequences, including more advanced stages of disease when seeing a physician, avoidable deaths, and not receiving lifesaving treatments for conditions such as heart failure.
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Older Adults on ART Have Double the Mortality Risk of Their HIV-Negative Counterparts
May 21st 2020Persons 50 years and older accounted for 3.6 million individuals living with HIV in 2013, and this number almost doubled to an estimated 6.7 million by 2017. Not all, however, are on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
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Patients With Breast Cancer, COVID-19 Fared Well in Recent Study
May 20th 2020A small trial out of Columbia University Irving Medical Center shows encouraging recovery results among patients with breast cancer who contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and/or high clinical or radiographic suspicion. Hospitalization was not necessary for nearly three-quarters of the patients.
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Can the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Score Accurately Predict Cognitive Decline?
May 18th 2020By 2030, the World Health Organization estimates that 82 million individuals worldwide will be affected by dementia, up from 50 million in 2017 and a 64% increase in prevalence in just 13 years. It is well established that cardiovascular health and cognitive decline are interrelated.
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How Do Heart Transplant Recipients Fare During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
May 15th 2020The worldwide fatality rate from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) now exceeds 7%, and more than 3 million cases have been reported. Cardiovascular disease is a well-known factor for increasing the risk of contracting this sometimes deadly virus.
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Does Mortality Differ Among Patients With Certain Subtypes of Heart Failure?
May 14th 2020Patients hospitalized due to acute decompensated heart failure have both a higher rate of annual mortality, compared with patients who have chronic ambulatory heart failure, and of dying within 6 months of hospital release.
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