Denialism

Category: Medicine

  • Questions you should ask your doctor

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    MarkH
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    What is my blood pressure? Is it OK? Have I been checked for diabetes? How is my cholesterol? Is that OK? Am I due for any vaccinations? Do I need any cancer screening, such as PSA, colonoscopy, mammogram, pap smear? How is my weight? What is my body mass index (BMI)? Here is my medication…

  • Cancer 201—treatment basics

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    MarkH
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    Once a cancer has been diagnosed, we must use our knowledge of biology, medicine, and clinical trials to plan treatment. Treatment can be curative or palliative (that is, with a goal of reducing symptoms or extending life, rather than effecting a cure). Understanding cancer treatment requires a little bit of basic biology, and as with…

  • I’ve been (not) workin’ on the railroad

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    MarkH
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    This story is disturbing for a host of reasons, but there’s a medical ethics issue hiding in here. Apparently, if you work for the Long Island Railroad, you can retire at 50, then claim disability for a job you no longer have, and collect both a disability check and a pension. I shit you not.…

  • Who’s your hospitalist?

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    MarkH
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    Me: Hi, I’m Dr. Pal and I’ll be taking care of you here in the hospital. Patient: Where the hell is my real doctor? Me: He’s at the office seeing patients. He doesn’t come to the hospital anymore. Patient: Why the hell not? Me: Well, it’s complicated, but it’s getting harder and harder for doctors…

  • Cancer 102

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    MarkH
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    In Cancer 101, I gave some basics to understanding cancer. A commenter asked a good question, and our next lesson will attempt a simple answer. The question regarded how a pathologist can tell if a cancer is “invasive” by looking at a specimen. Well, depending on the specimen, the answer changes, but let’s use the…

  • Cancer 101

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    MarkH
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    Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., and at any moment directly affects almost 4% of the population, or about 10.8 million Americans. A diagnosis of cancer can be one of the most frightening moments in someone’s life, and yet most people understand little about the disease. I hear the same…

  • A very confused pharmacist

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    MarkH
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    I’ve written often about the ethics of doctors and pharmacists imposing their own morals on their patients and customers. Our Sb pharmacologist has as well. And even though all of our legitimate professional organizations recognize this line, Bush’s Department of Health and Human Services has jumped into the ring to join a fight that should…

  • Medical professionalism, or WE ARE YOUR GODS, BOW BEFORE US

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    MarkH
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    One of our sciblings, Dr. Signout, is learning the ropes as she struggles (and presumably excels) through her medical residency. As her writing has picked back up, she has brought up some important questions about medical education and medical professionalism. I’m a little further along in my career than she, and I have some thoughts…

  • How will the candidates fix American health care?

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    MarkH
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    I don’t know. There was a pretty good piece in the New England Journal of Medicine, but it’s really not clear enough for most readers (including myself). The McCain and Obama websites give fairly comprehensive looks at their health plans, but nothing useful for a lay reader. The good news is that both campaigns have…

  • Stossel gets it right

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    MarkH
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    John Stossel of ABC’s 20/20 has never been one of my favorites. He’s one of those folks who often poses as a skeptic by using doubt and mockery indiscriminately. Tonight, though, he got it right. He discusses food obsessions and fads, pointing out the contradictions inherent in food cultists. One of the worst of the…