The five most-read stories on Scope this week were:
No day on the beach: A colon cancer survivor’s story: Inspire contributor and colon cancer survivor Mark Nelson shares a story about taking off his shirt in public for the first time since getting a colostomy bag. In hindsight, he wishes he had been more prepared for onlookers' reaction on that summer day - much like he wished he had been better equipped for his cancer journey.
Diverse microbes discovered in healthy lungs shed new light on cystic fibrosis: For decades, doctors thought that bacteria did not grow in healthy people’s lungs. But an emerging body of research, including a new paper from Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, shows that the received wisdom is wrong. Far from being sterile, the findings show, healthy lungs are home to a veritable forest of microbes.
Documentary examining nation’s health-care spending to premiere on PBS Tuesday: This week, “Money and Medicine,” a documentary examining the nation’s health-care spending, premiered on PBS. The film illuminates the waste and over-treatment that burden America’s health-care system, and it explores potential methods for curbing medical costs and improving quality of care for patients.
Image of the Week: A medical-focused manga comic: Ian Roberts, MB, a professor of epidemiology and public heath at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, created this manga comic to increase awareness among emergency physicians about recent evidence showing the clot-boosting drug tranexamic acid can increase survival rates among trauma patients.
Stanford study on the health benefits of organic food: What people are saying: A collection of reactions from journalists and sources featured in various articles in response to Stanford researchers’ recent study on the health benefits of organic foods.