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Breast Cancer Diagnosis And Treatment: Can Women Trust It?

July 22nd, 2010 by AndrewSchorr in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
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The news wasn’t good this week for women concerned about breast cancer.

First came the story that some women were diagnosed with breast cancer, very early stage, had treatment –- including disfiguring surgery -– and then found out they never had cancer in the first place. The pathologist goofed, maybe even a second pathologist also misread the biopsies.

How does this happen? Not surprisingly it comes back to the clinical experience of the doctor. Properly diagnosing breast cancer, whether through radiology scans or pathology biopsies is not always easy. And in many communities the general radiologists and pathologists just don’t have enough specialized experience. This leads to mistakes, especially when the suggestions of possible cancer are subtle and minute. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*

Cancer Pathology: Are Lab Tests Always Right?

April 21st, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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The Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog says that cancer lab tests “aren’t always right.” They report on reports issued by two professional societies that point out that as many as 20% of a certain kind of test are inaccurate. According to the Health Blog the problem is the tests “aren’t black and white, and rely on a pathologist’s judgment.”

Now, judgment is a critical factor in most everything in medicine, but perhaps nowhere else are the consequences of incorrect judgment so serious as in pathology. As Dr. William Osler famously observed: “As is your pathology, so goes your clinical practice.” But how widespread is this problem? Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*