Three Reasons to Celebrate the Supreme Court’s Decision on Obamacare

Like a good, smart doctor, morally grounded and, perhaps, influenced by compassion (hard to tell), the Chief Justice figured out a legally acceptable way for his court to do the right thing. Bravo!

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Reading Between the Lines, and Learning from an Epidemiologist

She writes: “I believe that every edu­cated person must at the very least under­stand how these inter­preters of medical knowledge examine, or should examine, it to arrive at the conclusions.”

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How Much Do You Want Your Doctors To Say About Risks of Treatment?

This kind of paternalism, when a doctor assesses the risks and benefits, and spares the patient’s “knowing” seems anachronistic. But it may, still, be what many people are looking for when and if they get a serious illness. Not everyone wants a “tell me everything” kind of physician.

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Empowered Patient, Informed Consent, Life as a Patient, Oncology (cancer), Patient Autonomy, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , , , 19 Comments on How Much Do You Want Your Doctors To Say About Risks of Treatment?

This Week’s Triple, Tough Dose of Real Stories on Women with Cancer

This news reminds us an aspect of cancer treatment some of us would rather put out of our heads….all cancer patients should take careful notes on their planned treatments and ask their doctors about the long-term consequences of therapy.

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FDA Approves Pertuzumab for Advanced, Her2+ Breast Cancer

My opinion is not quite formed on this new antibody. The FDA’s decision was based on results of one trial of 808 patients, half of whom didn’t get the experimental drug…

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On Sheryl Crow’s Report that She Has a Meningioma, and Singing Loud

Fortunately the LATimes and People magazine got the story right. Their headlines, and text, emphasize the benign nature of Crow’s newly-diagnosed condition, a meningioma.

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EMILIA Trial: T-DM1 Appears Helpful in Women with Her2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

The new agent is a hybrid of an old monoclonal antibody, Herceptin, that’s chemically attached to DM1, a traditional kind of chemotherapy. The preliminary results of this randomized trial are encouraging. …It’s hard to know how this promising, likely expensive, intravenous drug will fit in with others for patients with Her2+ breast cancer.

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