NOVEMBER 17, 2009

Advocate Stresses Importance Of Shinseki's Vow On Veteran Homelessness.

   Writing for the Huffington Post (11/16), Nan Roman, the president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, noted that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has "vowed to end veterans homelessness in five years. It's a goal as noble as the men and women it honors; and one that should be taken very, very seriously," because the "latest numbers show that 131,000 United States veterans will be homeless tonight." Roman added, "The VA stands at the helm of this fight as the agency closest to returning veterans and most capable of offering assistance. Let's make sure that Congress charges them with the clear responsibility -- and all the necessary tools -- to get the job done."
Impact: homelessness

Study Examines New Way To Treat Brain Tumors.

  The New York Times (11/17) reports a study currently underway "at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell...combines old technologies in a new way to open the barrier and deliver extraordinarily high doses of Avastin straight to these deadly tumors - without soaking the rest of the brain in the drug and exposing it to side effects. The goal is to find better ways to treat" brain tumors known as glioblastomas, but the technique, "might also be useful for brain metastases, meaning cancer that has spread from other parts of the body, like the breasts or lungs - something that occurs in about 100,000 people a year in the United States. The same procedure could also deliver other drugs and might eventually be used to treat neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease, if suitable therapies are developed." The Times notes that the study "involves a technique first developed about 30 years ago" by "Dr. Edward A. Neuwelt, a neurosurgeon" at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Portland, Oregon.
Impact: brain tumor research, Portland VA

Battle To Keep Local VA Facility Looks To Be Over.

  In continuing coverage, an editorial in the Walla Walla (WA) Union-Bulletin (11/17, 13K) says it is "good news for the local economy, and...thousands of veterans" that President Barack Obama recently "signed the $70 million authorization to renovate parts" of the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center "and to build a new 66,000-square-foot outpatient clinic on the grounds." But "our elected officials and community leaders can't rest with this victory. The VA grounds have the potential to house even more services for veterans."
Impact: brain tumor research

Military Combat, PTSD, And The Systematic Destruction Of The Soul.

  In an op-ed for The Oregonian (11/16, 276K), Robin G. Henderson, a Portland psychiatrist, said he "was disturbed to recently learn that many" Veterans Affairs "psychiatrists admit they neglect asking combat veterans, if they ever killed anyone, but rather focus on the soldier's personal exposure to danger or a colleague's casualty." When a "soldier kills a lot of people, even when 'justified' or militarily 'necessary,' the internal response is the same. What you get then is self loathing, fear of one's own impulses, isolation from others, depression," and the "growing urge to self destruct. If mental health professionals don't want to hear about this, I wonder how many politicians give a blind ear (and mind) to these human costs when taking positions about sending soldiers off to war."
Impact: editorial, The Oregonian