Bernard Fisher’s Battle Against the Radical Mastectomy
theatlantic.com, August 9, 2013 Before 1971, if you had breast cancer, chances are you’d have to get your breast cut off. Surgeons had been taught one thing: radical surgery saves lives. It was Bernard Fisher who changed their minds, getting reluctant breast surgeons to enter their cancer patients into clinical trials that tested less aggressive […]
New Breast Cancer Film to Premiere in New York City
The Huffington Post, March 29, 2013 Can you imagine having breast cancer, having lost your sister, mother and other relatives to the disease, and having doctors with no clue as to why the disease is devastating your family? It should not be that hard to imagine. It was entirely commonplace only 25 years ago until […]
Extreme Breast Cancer Prevention
The Huffington Post, January 14, 2013 The news that 24-year-old Allyn Rose, Miss District of Columbia in this year’s Miss America competition, is planning to have both of her breasts removed in the near future is the latest case of what we might call “extreme breast cancer prevention.” Rose’s mother died of breast cancer, but […]
The Annals of Extreme Surgery
The New York Times, 29 August 2011 THE heat is on again in the world of cancer treatment, both literally and figuratively. More and more doctors are now using an extremely aggressive procedure to treat certain colorectal and ovarian cancers called Hipec, in which patients first undergo surgery to remove any visible cancer, then have […]
In the Death Of a Doctor, A Lesson
The New York Times, 23 July 2002 There’s an old saying among doctors and nurses who become seriously ill: don’t get your medical care at the hospital where you work. It brings too much embarrassment and not enough privacy. But my colleague Catherine received most of her treatment at our hospital after she developed cancer […]