• Ingram's: Cancer’s Bell Tolls: How Health Systems Are Responding to Rising Rates of Chronic Disease

    • Ingram's: Cancer’s Bell Tolls: How Health Systems Are Responding to Rising Rates of Chronic Disease

    For the first time in the nation’s history, more than 2 million people were diagnosed with invasive cancer in a single year. That threshold—crossed in 2024—is projected to climb again in 2025.

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    According to the American Cancer Society’s annual reports, the U.S. has seen a steady increase of invasive cancer diagnoses each year since 2021, rising about 7-8 percent in just four years.

    This is a reflective of a rise in chronic disease rates overall, caused in part by aging populations. As a result, many health systems are responding to a patient volume growth steadily rising as the Baby Boomer generation ages.

    Ingram's talked with Dr. Michael Main, chief clinical officer of BJC Health's West Region, to explain the trend Saint Luke's is observing and how the health system is expanding care to better serve patients, including an expanded primary-care platform and bolstering capacity in critical areas like oncology and cardiovascular disease.

    Read the entire article here: Ingram's: Cancer’s Bell Tolls: How Health Systems Are Responding to Rising Rates of Chronic Disease.