It’s not going to wind up helping patients, argue two letter writers in Portland’s Oregonian (Dec. 1)(via KevinMD). Leonard Berlin, M.D., thinks providers do not always give the public a realistic view of the benefits and limitations of cancer screening (“A Manifesto for Truth-in-Mammography Advertising”, Imaging Economics, Nov. 2004).
$5.5 million mammography verdict
It’s not going to wind up helping patients, argue two letter writers in Portland’s Oregonian (Dec. 1)(via KevinMD). Leonard Berlin, M.D., thinks providers do not always give the public a realistic view of the benefits and limitations of cancer screening (“A Manifesto for Truth-in-Mammography Advertising”, Imaging Economics, Nov. 2004).
One Comment
Ultimately leading radiologists reading screening mammograms to have only two possible results: positive (there is a suspicious area that will need followup or biopsy) and equivocal (we cannot pinpoint anything, yet never, ever should the patient feel healthy even for a moment; correlate with clinical exam, followup with your primary doc, get us old films for comparison).
All I want, and can expect, from a screening exam is to know that my odds are no worse than any old Joe my age. Screening can never tell me with certainty that I am without disease.