Tag Archives: screening
Mammograms for All Women Over 40: The Good, the Bad…
An article in the February 18, 2013 online edition of the Wall St. Journal asks readers, “Should All Women Over 40 get Annual Mammograms?” (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323539804578260241902140764.html?mod=WSJ_GoogleNews&mod=igoogle_wsj_gadgv1). For a few decades now, that’s been the recommendation to American women by most of their doctors. So, why has there been so much controversy about this cancer screening test [...]
Vinegar for Cervical Cancer?
No, we’re not talking about pouring vinegar on a woman’s cervix to cure cancer. Despite the quackery rife on the internet produced by what I describe in When Cancer Hits Home as “modern day snakeoil salesmen,” there is no data that vinegar cures cancer. What it does appear to do very well is detect cervical [...]
NPS Study Shows Colonoscopy Reduced Colon Cancer Deaths
Doctors from Memorial Sloan Kettering, Mt. Sinai and several other major medical centers throughout the country just published their long-term findings from the National Polyp Study (NPS) in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1100370. They prospectively evaluated 2600 patients found to have adenomatous polyps at the time of screening colonoscopy for colorectal cancer (CRC) [...]
My First Colonoscopy & the Katie Couric Effect
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a decade since TV personality, Katie Couric, agreed to have her screening colonoscopy nationally televised in March of 2000. She was and is passionate about early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC), having suffered the loss of her husband, Jay Monahan, in 1998 at the age of 42. [...]
When is Screening for Breast or Prostate Cancer a Bad Idea?
An article by Gina Kolata on October 29, 2011 in the New York Times online asks when might it be “best not to know about cancer”: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/health/cancer-screening-may-be-more-popular-than-useful.html?ref=health. My first reaction was, “Sure I’d like to never have to know about cancer!” Unfortunately, for me as an oncologist who has lost multiple close friends and [...]
Cervical Cancer Screening in 2011: Pap vs Liquid vs HPV Test
One week after the United States Preventive Services task Force (USPSTF) caused a major uproar with their report on the lack of benefit for PSA screening for prostate cancer, their making headlines again today. Lead author, Dr. Evelyn Whitlock, and her colleagues published their findings on the current status of screening for cancer of the [...]
PSA Test for Prostate Cancer Screening: SELECTION Is Key!
This week the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF; what an acronym!) caused an uproar with their announcement of a “D” grade recommendation for the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test that is used to screen for prostate cancer. The group’s previous report was in 2008, in which the USPSTF recommended that men 75+ not [...]
Lung Cancer Screening: CT Scan vs. Sniffing Dog?!
Today the medical, scientific, and even major news outlets are abuzz with reports of specially trained dogs that are able to sniff out cancer! Scientists in Germany trained four dogs (over 9 months) to notice the scent of what are thought to be specific organic compounds in the breath of patients who have lung cancer. [...]
Screening CT Scans Reduce Lung Cancer Deaths
We all know that smoklung can lead to lung cancer, but what can be done for long-term smokers to reduce their risk? Thanks to a new major study, we have one answer. The National Lung Screening Trial was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine yesterday. Over 53,000 people were enrolled. These folks weren’t [...]
