Big news in women's health this week. Good news? Depends on how you see it. The NYTimes reports that surgery for early stage not-quite breast cancer is pretty much useless. Not shocking since NCI decided that DCIS shouldn't even be called "cancer." They say, for instance, that some premalignant conditions, like one that affects the … Continue reading DCIS, female “viagra” and other disturbing women’s health news
Breast cancer
2 Boston studies: Breast cancer costs and medical records benefits
After pushing mammograms for years, breast cancer advocates have had a hard time pulling back. Still the evidence keep piling up that message about surviving breast cancer is more complicated than early detection. What this study by Boston researchers doesn't measure: the scores of women who say -- If there's a chance it's cancer, I … Continue reading 2 Boston studies: Breast cancer costs and medical records benefits
Where to put health stories in the paper and why it matters
The Boston Globe has taken to playing stories on medical research findings -- like today's digital mammography report -- on Page 2. For the writer, good play, but not great. To the reader, this suggest important, but not front page important. This is commendable – often stories about complicated or incremental developments make the front … Continue reading Where to put health stories in the paper and why it matters
Another study questions benefit of mammograms, via Globe, Times
The Globe isn't sharing much with Boston.com these days. But, you can still access most of the blogs. Today's Daily Dose is on the mammography debate. We all thought early detection was key. For breast cancer, maybe not. In a research finding that will add to doubts about the value of breast cancer screening, Canadian … Continue reading Another study questions benefit of mammograms, via Globe, Times
Is DCIS cancer? New National Cancer Institute panel says no, get “carcinoma” out of the name
8/29: Globe weighs in on new new study on how women perceive the DCIS diagnosis Via JAMA This seems huge, although the questions about the overdiagnosis of cancer have been bubbling up for a while. Here's the NYTimes Well blog take on it. A group of experts advising the nation’s premier cancer research institution has recommended sweeping changes … Continue reading Is DCIS cancer? New National Cancer Institute panel says no, get “carcinoma” out of the name
Storify: Supreme Court says no gene patents
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Boston hospital CIO Halamka on his wife’s diagnosis: “We have cancer”
Beth Israel CIO John Halamka usually blogs about health information with posts like "The EHR/HIE Interoperability Workgroup," and very occasionally, his life as a vegan or his plan to retire to a small family farm to raise organic vegetables. Today he reports the disturbing news of his wife’s breast cancer. They've decided to document her treatment in real … Continue reading Boston hospital CIO Halamka on his wife’s diagnosis: “We have cancer”
Did news reports miss the message on IOM breast cancer/environment study?
Earlier this week, we cast this IOM study as offering little new news. But, as Julia Brody of The Silent Spring Institute points out, that's not quite true. From the environmental Health News website: ...(M)ost of the news media missed the significance of the assessment on environmental chemicals. The real news is that the report is an … Continue reading Did news reports miss the message on IOM breast cancer/environment study?
Our Bodies, Ourselves on breast cancer, early detection and chemicals
The OBOS blog uses the NYTimes story on DCIS to explain the myth of early detections. When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new recommendations in 2009 calling for less frequent screening mammograms for women under age 50, the news caused quite a ruckus. Many women’s health organizations, such as Our Bodies Ourselves, … Continue reading Our Bodies, Ourselves on breast cancer, early detection and chemicals
Get ready for cancer research hope/hype fest
For some help on how to process the tidal wave of cancer research news coming out of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists meeting, see Nature Network Boston. For an unfiltered view, Twitter is spewing information, including tweets from Dana Farber and Mass General.
Boston Health News 