European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes . Thursday. February 11,1993 savings draining care for cancer questioned Chicago a life prolonging treatment for critically ill cancer patients costs a Fortune and usually buys Little extra survival researchers say. A study published wednesday found that cancer patients who spent any time in intensive care for reasons other than Post surgical recovery ran up subsequent Hospital Bills ranging from $82,845 to $189,339 per year of life gained. Sixty six patients of the 150 who were studied died in the Hospital the researchers reported in the journal of the american medical association. Most patients who made it Home lived less than three months and Only 20 lived More than a year the researchers said. Apart from the global aspect the Cost to the nation there s the personal Cost the Cost to the family said the Lead researcher or. David v. Schapira of the h. Lee Moffitt cancer Center and research Institute i Tampa Fla. The study conducted at the Center considered Only Hospital costs. Insurance coverage often is inadequate to cover those plus physician fees and other expenses Schapira said. The medical costs can decimate the savings of the family three or four decades of savings. They May lose their House and the kids May have to come put of col lege for a few weeks of added survival he said. The authors urged doctors to talk with patients and families before starting any cancer treatment that could cause critical illness and inform them of the possible scenarios so that a strategy can be agreed upon be forehand. The researchers tracked Hospital costs after place ment in intensive care for 86 patients with solid tutors such As stomach breast lung and genital cancers and 64 patients with leukaemia or Lymph cancers. Even though Many such cancers Are curable some patients get critically ill because of complications from the malignancies or from the aggressive treatments used to fight them the researchers said. When cancer patients pet so sick they must be admitted to intensive care life prolonging treatment May be unwarranted the researchers said. Studies have reported mortality rates of 70 percent to 80 percent for cancer patients admitted to intensive care they said. Homecoming for possible my As Flag draped coffins containing remains that May be flown to Honolulu on tuesday. The remains were to be those of americans killed in Vietnam Are saluted by taken to an army Laboratory for analysis and possible military personnel at Ilic Kam fab Hawaii after being identification. Former Reagan envoy implicates top Hud officials in 1980s deals Washington a a former Reagan administration official has agreed to help prosecutors pursue other figures in a scandal involving the department of housing and Urban development As part of a guilty plea to conspiracy. Philip Dwinn a Developer of Englewood colo.,admitted tuesday that he offered a $20,000 loan to one top Hud official and use of his ski condominium in Vail colo., to another in Exchange Winn sought favourable action on requests for Hud subsidies in themid-1980s. Winn a former state Republican party chairman i Colorado was an assistant Secretary at the department and Federal housing commissioner in 1981-82. Presi Dent Ronald Reagan appointed him ambassador to Switzerland in 1988. As part of the plea agreement entered in . District court in Washington Winn agreed to pay a Crimi Nal Fine of $981,975. Fie also could be sentenced to up to five years in prison but prosecutors noted his cooperation in their continuing investigation of other Hud figures including former Secretary Samuel r. Pierce. Judge Stanley Harris did not set a sentencing Date. Winn is expected to be a key government witness inthe trial beginning March 30 of former assistant Hud Secretary Thomas Demery on 19 counts of bribery conspiracy perjury and obstructing Justice. Winn admitted to arranging a $20,000 loan in 1985 Lothen Deputy assistant Hud Secretary Silvio Debartolo Meis for a Beach clothing shop in Rehoboth Beach Del. Two marines missing from . Honor guard from wire reports Washington two Junior enlisted men Are missing from the . Marine corps s Honor guard in Washington a Marine spokesman said tuesday Marine staff sgt. Hal Freeman said that Lance Cpl. Robert Hill had been missing since thursday and that Lance Cpl. Jason Schuler had been missing since Friday when he failed to report for a Whitehouse ceremony welcoming Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney. We do not believe there is any connection Between the two cases Freeman said. He said both missing men were assigned to the Marine Barracks in Washington where they performed ceremonial duties and marched in a weekly Friday evening Parade. They were not assigned to any White House Security detail,0 he said. Virginians at Odds on guns Richmond a. The Virginia House on tuesday approved a Bill to limit handgun purchases to one a month As a Way of erasing Virginia reputation As a Haven for East coast gun runners while the Senate passed a measure that would allow multiple buys. The House of delegates voted 60-40 to pass . Douglas Wilder s original one handgun a month proposal. The Senate voted 35-4 to approve Compromise Bill that would allow multiple handgun purchases if the buyer obtains a certificate from Testate police. Since conflicting versions emerged the differences Likely will be resolved by a six legislator negotiating team. The legislative session ends feb. 27. A texan wins execution stay Huntsville Texas a killer dubbed the travelling rapist for assaulting 13 women in the Texas Panhandle was saved from execution lat tuesday. Samuel Hawkins 49, had been scheduled to be executed shortly after Midnight for the 1976 rape and stabbing death of a pregnant woman. Hawkins appealed to the . Supreme court on tuesday after the Texas court of criminal appeals in Austin refused to Grant him a stay. The justices granted the stay pending review of the Case. Bar aspirant fails again Hartford Conn. A would be lawyer who flunked the state bar exam More than 20 times has failed in his Appeal before the state supreme court. The court ruled monday that people who fail the bar exam May not go running to the state s judges to have their essay exams regraded. The ruling came in the Case of John Scinto of Stratford. He claimed a constitutional right to have the essay answers in his july 1989 test regraded by a judge. In that exam he scored 1.21 Points shy of passing score of 264. Justice David m. Borden wrote that Scinto supplied no evidence Only his own opinion to support his Contention that the grading procedures Are unfair. The exam consists of 200 multiple Choice questions and 12 essay questions. Bell needs More numbers St. Louis americans have nearly used up the1 billion phone numbers provided in a plan adopted by the Telephone company in 1947. Southwestern Bell Telephone co. Said tuesday that it is running out of phone numbers in St. Louis 314 area code and the last three available Are codes were gobbled up by other metropolitan areas last year. A Bell spokeswoman said the 314 area code will be out of numbers by the second Quarter of 1995 and 13 other area codes Are expected to fill up by the end of that year. She said the area codes around communities like fort Worth Texas and Nashville term., Are expected to fill up by the end of this year. Phone company officials blame the problem on increased demand for numbers by people adding extra lines to their Homes and offices for such devices As computers and fax machines