The stories examined, in depth, the six leading causes of death in the United States, and pointed out areas in which care can be improved considerably by making better use of preventive methods, screening tests and treatments that are already available. For instance, lives can be saved if heart attacks and strokes are treated faster and more appropriately, if diabetics lower their cholesterol as well as their blood sugar and if people get tested for colon cancer and pay more attention to its early warning signs. People with chronic lung disease can significantly improve their quality of life with the appropriate therapy, but the disease is often ignored, misdiagnosed, poorly treated and stigmatized. As for Alzheimer’s disease, there is no treatment that can alter the course of the illness; desperate families spend more than a $1 billion a year on drugs that are minimally effective at treating just the symptoms.
Judges’ Comments: Denise Grady and Gina Kolata show that ignorance, financial incentives and misinformation could sabotage how you and your relatives will be treated when facing one of the six leading causes of death. Already, savvy professors have picked up their series as a teaching tool, and informed readers have sought medical help after reading the stories.