Unsurprisingly, there are wide global disparities in survival rates of cancer patients. This is partly because of the relative wealth of different countries. However, there are huge disparities within the United States as well: In the United States, the lowest survival rates are in New York City, except for rectal cancer in women, where Wyoming….
Continue ReadingArchives for July 2008
For Better Medical Care, Bring a Friend
Senior citizens who bring company to their doctor or hospital visits receive better medical care, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Of the 38.6% of elderly patients who brought a companion along on their medical visits, the most common person to bring along was a spouse or an adult….
Continue ReadingAdults Slack on Vaccinations
Laura Landro, in her column “The Informed Patient,” discusses the problem of adults neglecting to get vaccinated for new illnesses. Not only that, but adults forget or are unaware that some childhood vaccinations lose efficacy after some time and need to be re-done. Skipping pre-travel vaccinations is also a common error. Part of the problem….
Continue ReadingDo You Really Need That CT Scan?
The NY Times has a long and informative article on the pressures physicians face to give patients with heart problems unnecessary CT angiogram scans, which are very expensive and not demonstrably more effective than cheaper tests. Aside from the expense, the scans come with radiation exposure equal to as much as 1,000 chest X-rays. Further,….
Continue ReadingDiabetes: An Underrated Illness
Many people have a tendency to underestimate the devastating effects of diabetes, as Tara Parker-Pope points out in her recent NY Times article. She cites studies where participants ranked various diseases, giving diabetes only 4s and 5s on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the worst). Several factors give people this optimistic view….
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