Elaine Schattner, MD

Breast Cancer Study Shows No Benefit In Extensive Lymph Node Removal

February 9, 2011February 11, 2011 Elaine Schattner, MD

Today’s Times leads with a story on surgical removal of lymph nodes in women with breast cancer. The dramatic digital headline, Lymph Node Study Shakes Pillar of Breast Cancer Care, made me tremble at first glance. The article by Denise Grady covers a new report* in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The key finding is that for women with apparently limited disease before surgery who undergo subsequent radiation and chemotherapy, taking out all the cancerous nodes from the axilla (armpit) has no advantage.

I read the original publication and took some notes:

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Medical News, Oncology (cancer)Tagged axillary lymph nodes, Breast Cancer, lymphedema, prognosis, sentinel node dissection, surgical treatment, survivalLeave a Comment

Pink’s OK With Me

February 7, 2011March 28, 2019 Elaine Schattner, MD

On Sunday, Feb. 20, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure will host its seventh annual Pink Elegance on Parade fashion show at the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel, reports the Scranton Times Tribune. The fundraiser will feature breast cancer survivors and others modeling fashions from Coldwater Creek, Lee’s Denim Diner, Luna Bleu and Suburban Casuals.

Some BC survivors, thrivors, thrivers, in-the-throws-ers and whatever we might call ourselves (I still can’t make up my mind on this) express disdain. Others, lately, convey cynicism, if not frank contempt, for the pink cancer culture in its entirety. Pink is tacky, pretty and possibly too rosy a color to link with the fate of so many sick and dying women.

I half-agree. But then again, I’ve never favored pastels:

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer awareness, Essential Lessons, Oncology (cancer), Women's HealthTagged Breast Cancer, breast cancer awareness, cancer culture, fundraising, pink, Susan G. Komen Foundation8 Comments

Contemplating Diet and Nutrition: A First Look at the USDA’s New Guidelines

February 6, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

On Sunday afternoons I tend to think about food for my family. Sometimes that’s because we’re having a few more than usual at the dinner table. Also, it’s a time when I order the bulk of fish, meat, produce and other ingredients for the week ahead. Since I had cancer, I’ve paid much more attention […]

Posted in Homemaking, Life, Medical News, NutritionTagged cooking, family meals, food, homemaking, nutrition, USDA, USDA 2010 report, USDA guidelines, vitamins2 Comments

Doctors Enjoy Smoking Camels, in an Old Cigarette Ad

February 4, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

A new Twitter follow led me to LongartsZwolle, a blog by a pulmonologist in the Netherlands. A February 1 post needs no translation: More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette The clip is said, on YouTube, to be a 1949 commercial for Camel cigarettes. I tried to find more on this, first by clicking […]

Posted in Communication, Public Health, Social Media, VideoTagged Camel cigarettes, doctors smoke Camels, doctors smoking Camels, doctors' lives, R.J. Reynolds, smoking, tobacco, TV ads, YouTubeLeave a Comment

A New Twist on Peanut Allergies and Other Allergic Reactions

February 3, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

The current New Yorker unfolds an engaging story on childhood food allergies. As related by Dr. Jerome Groopman, there’s a shift in how some doctors think about how these conditions are best managed and, even better – might be prevented. The article feeds into the recent discussion that medical science, and even dogma, too-often turns […]

Posted in Allergy, Magazine, Medical NewsTagged Bamba, childhood allergies, food allergies, Jerome Groopman, LEAP study, medical science, peanut allergies, the New YorkerLeave a Comment

Discovering Google’s Art Project

February 2, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

Today’s Wednesday web sighting ranks high in awesomeness. I discovered Google’s Art Project through molecular biologist Jessica Palmer’s always-gorgeous Biophemera blog. The find is Google Art: I couldn’t make up my mind which image to capture for this post. So take a break and explore some of the world’s finest art collections, right at your […]

Posted in Exhibits, Life, Social Media, Wednesday Web SightingTagged art history, Battle of the Nile, De Loutherbourg, Google art project1 Comment

Considering the Significance of a Doctor’s White Coat

February 1, 2011March 28, 2019 Elaine Schattner, MD

A while back, a first-year med student asked me if I think physicians should wear white coats. There’s a debate about it, she mentioned. Indeed, in the spring of 2009 the AMA considered an unenforceable mandate that physicians in the U.S. not wear white coats. The news was getting around that doctors spread infection from […]

Posted in Essential Lessons, Life as a Doctor, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged doctors, hygiene, life as a doctor, patient-doctor relationship, physicians, professionalism, white coats9 Comments

A Note on Positive Thinking

January 30, 2011January 30, 2011 Elaine Schattner, MD

Today I came upon a Jan 24 op-ed, A Fighting Spirit Won’t Change Your Life by Richard Sloan, PhD, of Columbia University’s Psychiatry Department. Somehow I’d missed this worthwhile piece on the sometimes-trendy notion of mind-over-matter in healing and medicine. Sloan opens with aftermath of the Tucson shootings: …Representative Giffords’s husband describes her as a […]

Posted in Ideas, Life as a Patient, Medical EthicsTagged literacy, mind over matter, positive thinking, psychology, public education, quackeryLeave a Comment

An Oncologist Considers Rare Lymphomas in Women With Breast Implants

January 28, 2011February 23, 2011 Elaine Schattner, MD

I have to admit that when I first read about the FDA’s report tying rare cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma to breast implants, my mind raced with a strange blend of excitement, intense interest and concern. My thoughts shifted from “wow, that’s really interesting” to “exactly what did the FDA find” to “should I be worried?”

So I’ve decided to write this morning’s post from my perspective as an oncologist

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Informed Consent, Medical News, Pathology, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Women's HealthTagged ALCL, ALK, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, anaplastic lymphoma, breast implants, CD30, immunology, implant risks, lymphoma, reconstructive surgeryLeave a Comment

FDA Reports on Association of Breast Implants and a Rare Form of Lymphoma

January 27, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

It’s a Pandora’s box, but one that needs be opened. The problem is that if we biopsy every abnormality – such as a minor thickening or fluid accumulation adjacent to a breast implant – we’ll hike up the costs and, more importantly, the complications associated: With every needle stick there’s a risk of infection, additional scar formation and more. On the other hand, you wouldn’t want to overlook a treatable, early-stage lymphoma. Women need to know of the risks of implants, which can only be determined if doctors thoroughly investigate these sorts of complications.

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Medical News, Oncology (cancer), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Women's HealthTagged ALCL, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, anaplastic lymphoma, breast implants, FDA alert, informed consent, lymphoma, mastectomy, reconstructive surgery1 Comment

Another Brooklyn (and how I feel when I look in the mirror)

January 26, 2011January 26, 2011 Elaine Schattner, MD

The image of Brooklyn Decker, a real woman and model from Middletown OH, streamed through my Google news feed this morning. I have to admire any person named Brooklyn, the place where I was born. From a post on my BlogHer health RSS: The BlogHer subject is Decker’s diet and exercise secrets: “…no matter how […]

Posted in Fitness, Magazine, Wednesday Web Sighting, Women's HealthTagged beauty, Brooklyn Decker, exercise, fitness, self-image, Sports Illustrated cover, Women's HealthLeave a Comment

Sad Stats for Science Knowledge in U.S. Schools

January 25, 2011January 26, 2011 Elaine Schattner, MD

Today’s Times reports on our nation’s students’ poor science test results. The results are bleak: only 34% of fourth graders scored at a “proficient” level or higher; just 30% of eight graders scored at a proficient level or higher; 21% of twelfth graders scored at a proficient or higher level in science. The mega-analysis, prepared […]

Posted in Empowered Patient, Future of Medicine, Informed Consent, Medical Education, Patient Autonomy, Public Health, ScienceTagged empowered patient, Future of Medicine, informed consent, medical education, public education, science education, U.S. educationLeave a Comment

Why It’s a Good Idea to Get a Second Opinion, and Maybe a Third, But Rarely a Fourth

January 24, 2011January 26, 2011 Elaine Schattner, MD

A few years ago I started writing a book on what it was like to be a cancer patient and an oncologist. This morning I came upon this section on second opinions: Is it OK to get a second opinion? Definitely. And there’s no need to be secretive about it, or to worry about hurting […]

Posted in cancer treatment, Communication, Empowered Patient, Life as a Doctor, Life as a Patient, Oncology (cancer), Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged cancer medicine, choosing a doctor, doctor-patient relationship, expertise, oncology, second opinion, third opinion1 Comment

The Broccoli Connection

January 21, 2011October 3, 2015 Elaine Schattner, MD

…for this Friday morning, I’ll just mention the perspective piece called Can Congress Make You Buy Broccoli? And Why That’s a Hard Question. Really I think the better question is whether or not the government can force people to eat broccoli.

And how could the NEJM authors have known about last night’s episode of the Office, that Michael would break HR rules by forcing Kevin to eat a stalk of raw broccoli…Kevin spat it out, forcefully and problematically for some viewers.

My tentative conclusion is that …

Posted in Homemaking, Life, Public Health, TVTagged broccoli, Kevin doesn't eat broccoli, nutrition, The Office, vegetablesLeave a Comment

Cautious Optimism for a New Melanoma Treatment

January 20, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

This morning’s news feed delivered some seemingly excellent news for some people with melanoma. At least until now, this form of skin cancer has been considered incurable when metastatic. In the last year, we heard details about the ups and downs of ongoing clinical trials of new drugs to treat the disease. The Times reports […]

Posted in cancer treatment, Medical News, Oncology (cancer), Under the RadarTagged B-Raf, chemotherapy pills, clinical trials, Genentech, melanoma, Plexxikon, PLX4032, RG7204, RO5185426, Roche, targeted therapy, vemurafenibLeave a Comment

Regional Dialects on Twitter, and Other Things You Gotta Know

January 19, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

I was listening to All Things Considered yesterday while preparing dinner. A short, interesting story came on: You Have An Accent Even On Twitter. The NPR host, Robert Siegel, interviewed Jacob Eisenstein, a post-doc at Carnegie Mellon who has been examining regional variances in Twitter usage. Some highlighted examples of Twitter dialecticisms: In New York, […]

Posted in Communication, language, Life, Radio, Social MediaTagged dialects, Jacob Eisenstein, language, social media, suttin, Twitter1 Comment

Steve Jobs Takes a Medical Leave

January 18, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

The big health story of the week, headlining the business news, is that Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder and usual CEO, is taking another medical leave. This is hardly a surprising development, given that the 55 year old corporate leader has had a complex medical course since at least 2003. In August, 2004 he told Apple […]

Posted in Medical News, Oncology (cancer), Public IllnessTagged cancer survival, chronic illness, islet cell tumor, liver transplant, medical leave, neuroendocrine tumor, pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs, work-life balanceLeave a Comment

Honoring MLK by Advocating Gun Control

January 17, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

I wish that more physicians would speak out in favor of stricter gun control laws. Firearms present a public health issue in the U.S. According to the CDC, over 12,000 Americans die each year from homicide involving firearms. The number of non-fatal gunshot wounds requiring hospital care approximates 48,000 per year.

Posted in Medical News, Policy, Public HealthTagged Arizona shootings, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., firearms, gun control, homicide, MLK Day, Public Health, violence1 Comment

Internet Surpasses TV as Prime News Source for Young Adults

January 16, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

I must have been reading a magazine when Mashable reported on new findings about the news from the Pew Research Center. A December 2010 survey confirmed that Americans are turning away from newspapers and logging onto the Web. Among young people, the Internet exceeds TV as a news source: In 2010, for the first time, […]

Posted in Communication, Social MediaTagged education, Internet, Internet news, journalism, medical information, news, Pew Research Center, social media, sources, TV newsLeave a Comment

On the Importance of Giving Blood

January 14, 2011May 28, 2012 Elaine Schattner, MD

The other day I wrote on advances in artificial red blood cells and developing platelets from stem cells. But those methods are in early research phases. Meanwhile, many patients need blood donated by adult humans, now. I have personally benefited from the generosity of blood donors. Some were strangers: In 1974 I received seven units […]

Posted in from the author, Hematology (blood), Public HealthTagged blood donation, blood drive, giving blood, National Blood Donor Month, transfusionLeave a Comment

Medical Lessons