Just as 2015 was getting underway, there was a sudden flurry of chatter swirling about headlines like this: That “bad luck” spin came courtesy of the headline on a press release about a new study in Science, which suggested that only about a third of all cancers can be attributed to environmental factors. The rest […]
cancer
Cancer & the Trouble of Too Much Medicine
Earlier this summer, a working group of the National Cancer Institute said we need a new definition of cancer. Its recommendations were published in JAMA this past July. “We need a 21st-century definition of cancer instead of a 19th-century definition of cancer, which is what we’ve been using,” Dr. Otis W. Brawley of the […]
Why Would You Want Antique X-rays?
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “cognitive dissonance” – the discomfort you feel when aware you have conflicting beliefs, thoughts or feelings. The phrase was coined by social psychologist Leon Festinger, whose classic study of a doomsday cult found that when our beliefs are challenged, we may actually double down and believe harder: When the world […]
Should You Be Concerned About Dental X-rays?
There’s been a lot of talk about radiation lately – how much we’re exposed to, how that exposure may affect your health. Consider this intro to a recent article in Time, for instance: It’s no secret that some medical exams expose patients to harmful radiation. But how much is too much? Recent studies have […]