Breast Biopsies Leave Room for Doubt, Study Finds

“Breast Biopsies Leave Room for Doubt, Study Finds,” Denise Grady, The New York Times.

New findings reported in JAMA challenge the common belief that a biopsy is the gold standard and will resolve any questions that might arise from an unclear mammogram or ultrasound.

In the United States, about 1.6 million women a year . . . → Read More: Breast Biopsies Leave Room for Doubt, Study Finds

Murky Devices: The PIP Breast Implant Scandal

In March 2010, French company Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP), a manufacturer of silicone breast implants since 1991 and one of the main producers of silicone breast implants for Europe and Latin America, was implicated in a scandal over a high rate of implant ruptures and use of substandard silicone. PIP had been using industrial-grade silicone . . . → Read More: Murky Devices: The PIP Breast Implant Scandal

Media Messages about Screenings and their Role in Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment

“Media Messages about Screenings and their Role in Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment.” By Gary Schwitzer, Engaging the Patient.

“Disclaimer: the following is not an anti-screening message. It is, however, a call for improved accuracy, balance and completeness in messages about screening tests.

As part of health literacy month, Schwitzer explains that while some journalists have excelled . . . → Read More: Media Messages about Screenings and their Role in Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment

Cancer Researchers Find “The Angelina Jolie Effect”

“Cancer Researchers Find “The Angelina Jolie Effect” By Kyle Hill, Nerdist.

When Angelina Jolie learned about her own genetic predisposition to breast cancer – and made her diagnosis and treatment very public – she unknowingly urged thousands of women to follow her lead. The announcement of her surgery was maybe more galvanizing than any recent . . . → Read More: Cancer Researchers Find “The Angelina Jolie Effect”

Some cancer experts see overdiagnosis and question early detection

“Some cancer experts see overdiagnosis and question early detection” By Melinda Beck, The Wall Street Journal.

“We’re not finding enough of the really lethal cancers, and we’re finding too many of the slow-moving ones that probably don’t need to be found,” says Laura Esserman, a breast-cancer surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco.

Early . . . → Read More: Some cancer experts see overdiagnosis and question early detection

ASCO Issues HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Guide

“ASCO Issues HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Guide?” By Charles Bankhead, MedPage Today.

Editorial Note: After reviewing medical literature from 1993 through May 2013, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed a new set of clinical guidelines for patients with advanced HER2-negative breast cancer. The review included findings from 59 randomized clinical trials and 20 systematic . . . → Read More: ASCO Issues HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Guide

Cancer screening in the elderly: Don’t be stupid

“Cancer screening in the elderly: Don’t be stupid” By Kenneth Lin MD, KevinMD.

When should you stop cancer screening? The answer boils down to the patient’s predicted life expectancy compared to the number of years needed for a patient to benefit from a test. Yet cancer screening in patients with limited life expectancies happens all . . . → Read More: Cancer screening in the elderly: Don’t be stupid

The truth about the Ice Bucket Challenge: Viral memes shouldn't dictate our charitable giving

“The truth about the Ice Bucket Challenge: Viral memes shouldn’t dictate our charitable giving.” By Julia Belluz, Vox.

The choices we make about where to donate money for health causes aren’t always rational. We are probably more often driven to give by a disease that has touched a loved one than by utilitarian calculations about . . . → Read More: The truth about the Ice Bucket Challenge: Viral memes shouldn’t dictate our charitable giving

Decision-making in the midst of medical un/certainty

Evidence and controversy over Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy (CPM)

A recent string of articles in the media (and discussions in social media) have considered a particular type of breast cancer treatment called Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy (CPM). CPM involves the removal of both the breast where breast cancer cells have been found and the healthy breast . . . → Read More: Decision-making in the midst of medical un/certainty

The Wrong Approach to Breast Cancer

“The Wrong Approach to Breast Cancer.” By Peggy Orenstein, The New York Times.

I had a tiny, low-grade tumor in 1997; 15 years later, in the summer of 2012, while I was simultaneously watching “Breaking Bad,” chatting with my husband and changing into my pajamas, my finger grazed a hard knot . . . → Read More: The Wrong Approach to Breast Cancer

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