I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago when it became clear the American Cancer Society was mulling over whether screening recommendations should be changed for breast and prostate cancers.
The concern, of course is, are some indolent, non-aggressive cancers suspected or discovered and patients are harmed with invasive tests and/or unnecessary or premature treatment [...]

It hit the paper this week. The American Cancer Society is revising its position on screening for breast and prostate cancer because of concerns we may be identifying cancers that are almost benign or might even go away on their own, and that overtreatment is causing harm.
We’ve already talked about this on many Patient Power [...]

It was 13 years ago that I was diagnosed with leukemia. At that time I had a wife and two children: a boy, 6, and a girl, 2. Later, with a “green light” from my doctor, we chose to have a third child.
I have previously written about how to tell your spouse, children, and co-workers [...]

70,000 American young adults are diagnosed with cancer each year. For many, it took them quite awhile to get an accurate diagnosis since the first doctor they saw pooh-poohed the idea that a young adult could even have cancer. Too often they were told it was a sports injury…or the flu…or a nerve problem..or a [...]

There was big news last week when we learned from the American Cancer Society that the overall number of cancer deaths in the United States had dipped for the first time in 70 years.
It wasn’t much, just a few hundred. And while the number went down overall and for men, it went up a bit [...]

Over the years, I have interviewed thousands of patients. Every once in a while I hear a comment that just gets seared into my mind, words I’ll never forget.
One such instance was a few year’s ago, when I was interviewing colon cancer survivors as we built audio programs for the American Cancer Society’s Survivors Network.
Bill, [...]