1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910826727303321

Autore

Welch H. Gilbert

Titolo

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

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, c2004

ISBN

0-520-93990-5

1-59734-896-1

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (236 p.)

Disciplina

616.99/4075

Soggetti

Cancer

Cancer - Diagnosis

Medical screening

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

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

Nota di contenuto

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.

Sommario/riassunto

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.