Is it at all surprising that, given these odds, many women who are judged to have a higher risk of getting breast cancer are refusing to take tamoxifen as a preventative? The only surprising thing is that anyone would find … Continue reading →
And it looks pretty much like the Senate version, with a few minor tweaks. See this and this for some interesting analysis. In related news, the White House says that if Republicans try to filibuster health care reform, reconciliation is … Continue reading →
Fifty-nine-year-old Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams needs heart surgery—and he’s going to the US to have it. That’s his prerogative. He’s lucky to have the resources to do so. But it’s an especially glaring example of a fact most of us … Continue reading →
We now have some convincing evidence that abstinence-only sexual education programs for teens, long derided as a counterproductive waste of time, actually work. This is news. This particular study has drawn attention because it is especially well-designed and includes longer … Continue reading →
Abraham Lincoln was an unusual man in a number of ways, not the least of them his startling and haunting looks. In person, he must have been an imposing but somewhat daunting sight. Impossibly tall and very thin, in his … Continue reading →
By now you’ve probably all heard the remarkable case of Rom Houben, the young man trapped in a paralyzed body for 23 years, unable to communicate and thought to be in a vegetative state. Recent brain scans indicated much more … Continue reading →
It’s difficult to understand the new mammogram recommendations that suggest that women who are not in high risk groups because of genetic predispositions to breast cancer only begin screening at fifty, and then only every other year, and that doctors … Continue reading →
Seventy-four-year-old Japanese champion bodybuilder Tosaka says “anyone can stay young and healthy if they exercise from time to time.” Sure. The voiceover then goes on to say, without missing a beat, [emphasis mine] “Tosaka spends most of his time working … Continue reading →
Here’s a truly fascinating article on the subject of placebos. Commenter “Donna” brought it to attention in the thread on acupuncture, and it’s relevant to that subject and so much more. I don’t have time to do an in-depth piece … Continue reading →
You may recall that I hurt my knee about two weeks ago. It was progressing, but in the wrong direction—day by day getting worse instead of better. Medicine didn’t offer me much (actually, it didn’t offer me anything), and there … Continue reading →
Several British doctors, experts on palliative care (which means the compassionate treatment of the dying in order to make them more comfortable), have registered alarm at a trend in British medical practice: Forecasting death is an inexact science,”they say. Patients … Continue reading →
…for the appendix. It’s not so useless after all. Although, don’t panic if you’ve lost yours.
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