April 2014

AYA

AYA By Leonard Zwelling        Any good business should be on the lookout for growth opportunities, especially if these new markets contain a currently underserved group of potential customers. In the cancer business (and make no mistake about it; cancer care in the United States is a huge business), it would seem really challenging to …

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THE ASK

The Ask By Leonard Zwelling          You learn this early on Capitol Hill. Lobbyists and constituents have at most 15 minutes with a Senator or Congressman, if they are lucky enough to get an appointment with either rather than with the staff. They may have been waiting weeks for this time, but it is fleeting. …

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Increasing Exceptions Undermine Exceptionalism

A Small Bump in an ‘Exception’ Undermines Exceptionalism: The Newest Front in DePinho’s Confrontation With the Faculty             I have always objected to the concept of American exceptionalism, the inherent belief that if its origin is in this country, it is, by definition, the best. In his essential book The Healing of America, TR Reid …

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EXTRA, EXTRA: A Response to the DePInho Op-ed

The DePinho Plea for Cancer Center Access: Why Was It Needed? By Leonard Zwelling http://www.chron.com/default/article/DePinho-Access-to-top-cancer-centers-can-be-5422063.php          In today’s (April 23) Houston Chronicle (link above), President Ron DePinho makes a compelling case for the inclusion of the academic cancer centers in the roster of services made available to patients buying insurance coverage in the ACA-based exchanges. …

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WOMEN

Women By Leonard Zwelling       In the recent Chronicle op-ed piece I published with my colleague Lovell Jones on the need to widen the participation of the Texas Medical Center’s flagship institutions in a program of citywide cancer screening, we discuss the lack of minority and women leaders at the critical decision–making table of our …

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A START

A Start By Leonard Zwelling       I am uncertain that any bill ever passed by the US Congress and signed into law by the President can compare with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for the controversy generated (huge) compared with the actual consequences of the bill (small).       Supporters of the legislation ascribe all sorts …

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250

250 By Leonard Zwelling       That’s almost the number of posts to the blog to date (233) and equals the number of thousands of page views (250,044).       This is a truly astounding development in my life. Considering that I was at best a solid B- English student, that anyone should want to read anything …

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FIDELITY

Fidelity By Leonard Zwelling      My Bar Mitzvah dictionary (received June 17, 1961 and still sitting on my desk over 50 years later), defines fidelity as: the state of being faithful, exactness, allegiance, fealty, loyalty, devotion. That seems about right to me.      Most would characterize fidelity as a good quality. It certainly is in …

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CHOOSE

Choose By Leonard Zwelling      Aloha! We (the BW, beautiful wife and I) are leaving Maui after our annual visit to paradise. Wailea on the west coast of this gorgeous island gets our vote as our favorite place for R and R. This year, both of us desperately needed some R and R. Last year …

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