So they're going to redefine "cancer" to include fewer such diseases!
<rim shot>:lamo. Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week.
Seriously, that's what they're going to do. So, why is the federal government getting involved in defining medical terms like "cancer", "live birth", and "pregnancy"? Because the feds are going to be running the medical system, and they don't like terms that result in "overtreatment" in the case of cancer or statistics that compare poorly to other countries in the case of "live birth". It reminds me of redefining "the unemployed" so that it doesn't include anyone who has given up looking for work. Redefined out of existence! Unemployed, live births, and now tumors.
And then of course they are going to be crediting Obamacare for the resulting lower numbers for cancer diagnosis and better infant mortality. Wait and see.
So they're going to redefine "cancer" to include fewer such diseases!
<rim shot>:lamo. Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week.
Seriously, that's what they're going to do. So, why is the federal government getting involved in defining medical terms like "cancer", "live birth", and "pregnancy"? Because the feds are going to be running the medical system, and they don't like terms that result in "overtreatment" in the case of cancer or statistics that compare poorly to other countries in the case of "live birth". It reminds me of redefining "the unemployed" so that it doesn't include anyone who has given up looking for work. Redefined out of existence! Unemployed, live births, and now tumors.
And then of course they are going to be crediting Obamacare for the resulting lower numbers for cancer diagnosis and better infant mortality. Wait and see.
Yet once patients are told they have a cancer, many become frightened and seek unnecessary further tests, chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery. By redefining the term “cancer,” the National Cancer Institute hopes to reduce patient anxiety and reduce the risks and expenses associated with supposedly unnecessary medical procedures. In technical terms, the government hopes to reduce “overdiagnosis” and “overtreatment” of cancer.
Mak you're spinning like a top. Just changing the name doesn't change the course of treatment most likely to succeed. All this is about is saving the government money. Remember those death panels this is it. This is about avoiding treating people with stage three or four cancer...
Mak the fact of the matter is anyone sane is going to want a second opinion before undergoing any sort of treatment for any sort of tumor. And until you get the biopsy it's damned ahrd to know whther a tumor is benign or malignant. All this is going to do is encourage people to take risks they are probably better off not taking.
Over treatment of benign tomors causes more harm than good.
I will not disagree with that. However, do you want a one-size-fits all government solution, or do you want the varied opinion of more than one doctor?
What has emerged has been an appreciation of the complexity of the pathologic condition called cancer. The word “cancer” often invokes the specter of an inexorably lethal process; however, cancers are heterogeneous and can follow multiple paths, not all of which progress to metastases and death, and include indolent disease that causes no harm during the patient’s lifetime. Better biology alone can explain better outcomes. Although this complexity complicates the goal of early diagnosis, its recognition provides an opportunity to adapt cancer screening with a focus on identifying and treating those conditions most likely associated with morbidity and mortality.
Yet once patients are told they have a cancer, many become frightened and seek unnecessary further tests, chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery. By redefining the term “cancer,” the National Cancer Institute hopes to reduce patient anxiety and reduce the risks and expenses associated with supposedly unnecessary medical procedures. In technical terms, the government hopes to reduce “overdiagnosis” and “overtreatment” of cancer.
Gee getting frightened because you are diagnosed with cancer, how inconsiderate of those people. Maybe we should just tell them they have an ouchie and put a Band-Aid on it.
Another amazingly intelligent comment.
2 for 2.
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