Get Cancer. Lose Your Job?
The harsh reality is that people who have had cancer treatment are sometimes perceived as a burden on a working group
Palbociclib Appears to Prolong Progression Free Survival in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer
As for 10 months of PFS, that’s valuable. Imagine that you’re 55 years old and living with metastatic breast cancer. A drug that is likely to delay, by most of 2 years, your tumor’s expansion into the lungs …A concern I have is that this study wasn’t blinded,
More on Mammography, Breast Cancer, Misleading Arguments, Emotion and Women’s Health
While therapy has improved quite a bit since 1985, the greatest benefit derives from most women avoiding the need for life-long treatment by having small tumors found and removed before they’ve spread.
Why I Like the (Absurd) Dancing in the OR Video
What Deb did, and I thank her for this, is offer an extreme example of patient-centered care. Among other things, she did everything possible to assure that the people caring for her perceive her as a human being who loves dancing.
Good News from SCOTUS on Gene Patents, But Questions Remain
What goes unaddressed by the justices is the patentability of cDNA based on common genetic variants in cancer. Those are “naturally occurring” mutations, inasmuch as they arise in humans….And the Supremes need to know about biology.
Questions for ASCO – on Tamoxifen, ATLAS and aTTom
The problem with Tamoxifen is that it has anti-estrogen effects that many young (and older) women consider undesirable. Already our breasts have been cut. Feeling “feminine” is not trivial.
Don’t Judge Her! An Essay on Angelina Jolie, BRCA, Cancer Risk and Informed Decision-Making
There’s no right answer…Jolie’s essay reflects the dilemma of any person making a medical choice based on their circumstances, values, genetic test results and what information they’ve been given or otherwise found and interpreted.
News on Occupational Exposure to N-PropylBromide, a Neuro-toxin
If people lack education about chemistry and need employment, they may not choose or know what’s in their long-term best interests.
Don’t Blur the Message on Cancer Screening
I hope this week’s headlines and editorials don’t add to the blurriness of the public’s perception of cancer screening – that people might begin to think it’s a bad thing all around. The details matter….screening if it’s done right can save lives and dollars. That’s because for most tumor types, treating advanced, metastatic disease is costlier than treatment of early-stage, curable tumors.
Talking About Physician Burnout, and Changing the System
With many difficult situations, the first step in solving a problem is in acknowledging it exists. After that, you can understand it and, hopefully, fix it. Our health care system now, as it functions in most academic medical centers and dollar-strapped hospitals, doesn’t give doctors much of a break, or slack, or “joy,” as…