The Enduring Clicks of an Ancient Game
Some members of the Manhattan Mah Jongg Club have played for half a century; others are novices.
A Chip against Cancer: Microfluidics Spots Circulating Tumor Cells
With an ordinary blood sample, a device can monitor cancerous cells for spread or resistance to treatment.
A Clinical Eye on Abramović
A doctor dissects the MoMA blockbuster.
The X-Rays of Others
Marilyn Monroe’s x-rays, white-on-black films of her chest and pelvis, are up for grabs this weekend. The images, long held […]
New Drugs, New Direction
Understanding breast cancer biology provides some new targets.
Lifting the Fog on Chemobrain
New research helps clarify what chemobrain is and why it happens.
Unlocking the Mystery of Cancer Stem Cells
Scientists research whether cancer stem cells are the key to eradicating the disease.
Plastic Surgery Is Not for Everyone: Options Following a Mastectomy
A woman with a breast cancer diagnosis faces many sudden choices, and in the emotional frenzy, reconstruction decisions may get […]
Seeing the Metastatic Side of Breast Cancer
Susan Niebur is a 38-year-old mom and astrophysicist who lives near Washington, D.C. In most mornings, lately, she chats with […]
What Should Doctors Wear? Even Lab Coats Could Spread Disease
With reports proving that germs can reside on scrubs, ties, stethoscopes, and white lab coats, some have said doctors should […]
More Butter for Your Bread?
A fresh debate on nutritional guidelines leads to the discovery of an old food wheel that listed butter as a […]
The Placebo Debate: Is It Unethical to Prescribe Them to Patients?
Pills, liquid, or powder with no treatment value can be harmful to the doctor-patient relationship, which is predicated on a […]
The Truth About Breast Cancer and Drinking Red Wine—or Any Alcohol
Last week’s report that drinking red wine could reduce the risk for breast cancer was just the latest in a […]
Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat?
“The ideal would be to prevent HPV infection in the first place,” Gillison says.
What We’re Talking About When We’re Talking About Cancer
In Wit, the play by Margaret Edson, Cynthia Nixon’s searing performance begs the audience not to turn away.
Rough Language and Real Politics Jeopardize Women’s Health
Like most women, physicians and mothers of my generation in the U.S., I’ve been fortunate to learn of deaths from […]
Do Abortions Cause Breast Cancer?
The shaky science behind Kansas’ House Abortion Act.
The Physician Burnout Epidemic: What It Means for Patients and Reform
In a large analysis published this week in Archives of Internal Medicine , researchers at the Mayo Clinic surveyed 7,288 […]
So There’s Arsenic in Our Rice—Now What?
Arsenic contamination affects a variety of rice forms: brown and white, organic and regular, long and short-grain.
October With Metastatic Breast Cancer
Some feel slighted or ignored during awareness month while serving as counter-examples to the common notion of survivorship.
Who’s a Survivor?
Survivor seems a strange term for a patient like me, said by her oncologist to be in remission—meaning that there’s […]
Reconciling Lance Armstrong’s Story With the Realities of Cancer Survival
In retrospect it’s clear that we — patients and their kids, parents, lovers, nurses, doctors, physical therapists and social workers, […]
Hillary Clinton, Hospitalized with a Blood Clot, Faces New Decisions
Yesterday evening Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was hospitalized for treatment and monitoring of a blood clot.
Leprosy: An Ancient Disease That Continues to Linger
Though there are antibiotics to counter its effects, we haven’t eradicated Hansen’s Disease, which is why it’s so disconcerting that […]
Missing Tony Soprano
Over the course of its six groundbreaking seasons on HBO, we discussed every aspect of The Sopranos with friends and […]
What in the Air Causes Lung Cancer?
Many have assumed that air pollution causes cancer, but proof was lacking. Until now.
For This October, A New Kind Of Breast Cancer Awareness
Patients have different preferences and needs; advocates have different styles and priorities. The issue about October is that..
Landscape Analysis Reveals How Little Is Known, Or Said, About Metastatic Breast Cancer
Many patients living with metastatic breast cancer need more help than they’re receiving, and many are reluctant to ask.
‘The Knick’ Depicts Medical Care In 1900: Doctors, Blood And Incredible Drama
The Knick offers a distorted but rare look at urban medicine in the early 1900s − worth watching if you […]
Collateral Damage: How A Cancer Diagnosis Hurts Employment And Finances
Employment and money concerns haunt many people with all kinds of cancer, nation-wide, during and after treatment.
For Reasons Unknown, Colon And Rectal Cancer Rates Are Rising In People Under 50
News of rising colorectal cancer rates in young people may surprise some physicians and others. The reasons are, for the […]
So What About That Acrylamide In Your French Fries?
In 2002, scientists reported that acrylamide forms when seemingly healthy carbohydrate-rich foods like potatoes, other root vegetables and grains are cooked at high […]
To Address Breast Cancer Globally, 3 Things Are Essential
First, you need awareness. In many world regions, fatalism is still an obstacle. Second, you need a delivery system. Third…
Oncotype Test Could Reduce Overtreatment Of Early Stage Breast Cancer
A low Oncotype DCIS score predicts a low chance that non-invasive breast cancer will recur. The study supports that many […]
Why Yes, We Should Treat Cancer
To deny new cancer treatments that might prolong life in a good way, possibly for cure or a remission, or […]
‘Chasing Life,’ My Favorite Soap Opera About A Young Journalist With Leukemia
Despite all its gloss and shenanigans, Chasing Life raises serious concerns of cancer patients. Life and looming death play in. […]
Mandatory Reporting Of Breast Density In Screening Mammograms. Why The Controversy?
Women have every right to know if they have dense breasts and if they’re at increased risk for a hidden […]
NED, A Vibrant Band Of Doctors Rocking For Women With Cancer
N.E.D. is a doctor’s old shorthand for remission, when there’s No Evidence of Disease. It’s also the name of a […]
Finding Beauty: How Lisa Bonchek Adams Told Her Cancer Story
Lisa wasn’t quiet about life or living with a devastating condition.
Recent Studies Of Mammography Use Shockingly Old Data
Researchers today are analyzing our grandmothers’ mammograms to inform women’s health and screening decisions today.
Understanding Angelina Jolie Pitt’s Cancer Risk And Her Decision To Tell About It
By telling her story, she helps break the mystery and stigma that deter honest and needed discussion about cancer-causing, inherited […]
Task Force Punts On Women Under 50, Jeopardizing Access To Mammograms
The panel’s C recommendation lessens the likelihood that women under 50 years will be encouraged to get mammograms and opens […]
Lynparza, First In A New Class Of Cancer Drugs, Is Surprisingly Active In A Wide Range Of Tumors
So far, the studies demonstrate that Lynparza has activity in cancer patients with and without inherited BRCA mutations.
How To Avoid Overdiagnosis And Overtreatment Of Breast Cancer
If overtreatment is the problem, the solution is not by avoidance of breast cancer detection, but by better education of […]
Can Journalists Be Too Skeptical About Progress Against Cancer?
On Twitter this week, I happened upon a discussion having to do with the possibility of curing cancer.
Logistic Toxicity, An Unmeasured Burden Of Healthcare
Logistic toxicity might be defined as the administrative burden of health care.
How Water Aerobics Can Keep You Fit As You Age
Among adults – including millions of baby boomers – water aerobics is becoming a popular way of keeping fit. For […]
Precision Medicine Will (Eventually) Lower Cancer Care Costs
Over time, the costs should drop, like for smartphone tech, what my Dad – a chemistry major and retired physician […]
Why People With Metastatic Breast Cancer Want To Get Counted
The number of people living with stage 4, metastatic breast cancer is unknown.
Notes From The ‘Die-In,’ A Demonstration For Metastatic Breast Cancer
Die-in for metastatic breast cancer, Washington DC, October 13, 2015 (photo courtesy of Zachary Parker)
Companion Diagnostics? For Cancer Care, We Need Better Ones
These biomarkers should link patients to optimal therapy (when such exists), and lead some to decline therapy that’s unlikely to […]
Venetoclax Is A Powerful New Kind of Cancer Drug Effective In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Venetoclax is a powerful new kind of oral medication. It enables leukemia cells to die by interfering with Bcl-2, a […]
To Educate Great Physicians, Focus On Science, Ethics And Future Learning Skills
Tomorrow’s doctors need to grasp more concepts in science and technology than did any previous generation of physicians.
At A Conference On Cancer, Patients Take Notes Like Their Lives Depend On It
Online communities can be terrific. But in person, patients hug one another, and develop trust, bonds that last, hopefully, from one year’s meeting to the next.
A Modern, Adaptive FDA Should Support Patients’ Right To Try New Medications
The agency’s leadership might accomplish what medicine does best: applying science humanely, so that people can get well if it’s […]
Komen In NYC: Still Walking And Changing Awareness
Since 1983, the Komen organization has raised and distributed more money for breast cancer care, education and scientific investigations than […]
Magic Johnson’s HIV Story Offers Hope For Cancer Patients
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the basketball legend, announced on November 7, 1991 that he had tested positive for HIV.
How The 21st Century Cures Act Should Support Public Health
We need and can afford both: to raise the bar so that everyone has access to modern healthcare, and to […]
Team Care Slashes Deaths From Pregnancy In Sickle Cell Anemia
Prior to the program’s start, maternal mortality for women with sickle cell disease exceeded 9% at the teaching hospital. With […]
We Need To Tame The Price Of New Cancer Drugs
Are unbridled profits necessary to drive medical innovation and progress?
At Penn State, THON—The World’s Largest Student-Run Charity—Helps Kids with Cancer
Dancing for cancer may seem a crazy idea, paradoxical, and wildly inefficient as a fundraising scheme. But it’s become the […]
The Personal Toll Of Practicing Medicine
In this article, I reflect on the circumstances that led me to stop practicing medicine—work that I loved—and why the […]
More Women Are Living Longer With Metastatic Breast Cancer, But Questions Remain
Metastatic breast cancer patients represent a significant group within the U.S. population who live with a chronic or terminal condition […]
When A Brilliant Mathematician Dies From Breast Cancer At Age 40
I hope for the future that other brilliant minds will have found and implemented ways to prevent most breast cancers, […]
John McCain is a fighter, no question. But can attitude affect cancer?
Language can be a powerful tool in medicine. As with physical remedies, there are potential harms and risks to consider, […]
Actually, Many New Cancer Drugs May Be Helpful And Worth Trying
Perhaps the literature fails to capture the clinical value of oncology drugs. This could happen for several reasons.
Commentary: How Patients Have Transformed A Medical Meeting About Breast Cancer
By speaking up, advocates at the meeting have shifted the direction of breast cancer research. Some are alive, improbably, as […]
A Call For More Research On Cancer’s Environmental Triggers
No question about cancer is more contentious than its causes.
High-Quality Mammography: A Step Forward for Women’s Health
As a society, we can’t treat our way out of breast cancer.
It would be far too expensive. Although surgery, radiation, and
medical therapies for breast cancer have improved, the physical toxicity—and expense—of treating advanced-stage cancers would be too great.
The War on Cancer
Doctors today generally caution against framing malignancy as an enemy that one must personally defeat.
Randomized Trials of Cancer Drugs Are For Yesterday
RCTs are expensive, slow and yield frustratingly limited information. (Nature Outlook)