STAT+: Despite Kennedy\u2019s stated support, funding for Women\u2019s Health Initiative remains in limbo
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The word came down at 9 a.m. Pacific on April 14 that they were done. Marcia Stefanick of Stanford and three other leaders of regional centers that for decades have researched women\u2019s health heard from their study\u2019s national leaders that their funding would end with the fiscal year.<\/p>\n
They all had contracts ready and waiting to be signed to extend their parts of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative, a massive, groundbreaking study that has changed medical practice on hormone therapy, bone health, and cardiovascular health.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like being punched in the gut,\u201d Stefanick recalled. The researchers, sick about the news, were told by the coordinating center to wait a few days before informing the study\u2019s steering committee, investigators in their respective regions, and others involved in running the study. On Friday, April 18, they spread the word in a call to their colleagues. \u201cThat\u2019s when they got their gut punch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n