Wade Swenson, Professor of Internal Medicine at Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, shared on LinkedIn:
“Thank you to the West Virginia Oncology Society (WVOS) for the invitation to speak at the WVOS 2026 Fall Conference, and to Amanda Impellizzeri and the WVOS team for a well-run meeting.
My talk drew on ‘Rural Cancer Care Delivery in the United States: A 2026 Update,’ which Zachary Schroeder and I published in JCO Oncology Practice.
A few points that generated the most discussion:
- The rural-urban cancer mortality gap is not closing, and it is widest where we might least expect it. For lung cancer, excess rural mortality is far higher in women under 65 than in those 65 and older.
- Policy shapes access. 340B rules, including the orphan drug exclusion for critical access hospitals, directly affect whether a small rural hospital can sustain oncology services.
- Rural cancer care works when it is built for rural places. Models like the Rural Oncology Home at Lakewood Health System.
- Social needs are part of cancer care. Food insecurity and broadband gaps are as real for patients in West Virginia as they are in rural Minnesota.
The bottom line: rural cancer disparities are a policy and equity problem, not a geography problem. That means they are solvable.”
Other articles about Wade Swenson on OncoDaily.