Doctors Blame Fear, Lack Of Education For Rising Mastectomy Rates
Health care providers say the trend is "alarming," and that there are often other effective alternatives to removing the entire breast. In other news, a diagnostic cancer test is causing a company to rethink the way it promotes its usage.
The Orange County Register:
Doctors 'Alarmed' By Rise In Mastectomies
The rate of breast cancer is holding steady, but federal data released this week shows more women are undergoing mastectomies. From 2005 to 2013, the rate of mastectomy, where the entire breast is removed, increased by 36 percent, to 90 out of every 100,000 adult U.S. women, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (Chandler, 2/24)
The San Francisco Business Times:
Map Plots Road For Genomic Health Cancer Test, 'Personalized' Medicine
The Redwood City company's Oncotype DX molecular diagnostic test is causing the company to tweak the way it promotes its usage. (Leuty, 2/24)