Should I be tested for cancer? : maybe not and here's why / H. Gilbert Welch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Welch, H. Gilbert.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cancer--Popular works.

Cancer.

Cancer--Diagnosis--Popular works.

Medical screening--Popular works.

Medical screening.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Combining patient stories and data on common cancers, the author makes the case that testing healthy people for cancer is really a double-edged sword: tests may help, but some have little effect and are sometimes even harmful.

Contents:

Pt. I. Problems you should know about.

It is unlikely that you will benefit

You may have a "cancer scare" and face an endless cycle of testing

You may receive unnecessary treatment

You may find a cancer you would rather not know about

Your pathologist may say it's cancer, while others say it's not

Your doctor may get distracted from other issues that are more important to you

Pt. II. Becoming a better-educated consumer

Understand the culture of medicine (and why we are pushed to test)

Understand the statistics of cancer (and why five-year survival is the world's most misleading number

Understand the limits to research; even genetic research (and why it is hard to be sure there really are benefits to screening

Develop a strategy that works for you.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-218) and index.

ISBN:

0-520-93990-5

1-59734-896-1

OCLC:

60779349