02-05-2012, 08:44 PM
Grace62 wrote:
[quote=Pam]
[quote=Grace62]
[quote=JoeH]
And if you think Komen is only interested in the best cancer prevention, detection and treatment, there have been some allegations made that board members are invested in some of the technology and drugs either funded for research or recommended for treatment. That includes Nancy Brinker. That line of investigation may turn out to be very interesting if substantiated.
Thanks for that insight Joe. We've been hearing from the medical community for a while that mammograms are not as useful as originally thought, but look at the outcry when guidelines were moved away from annual mammograms. Komen has caused a dispproportionate amount of health care spending and attention to focus on breast cancer, at the expense of other illnesses that as you say, are more common in women.
so while he we can applaud the work they've done, and it's not insignificant, their approach overall creates some concerns - as you pointed out. I too would like to know more about ties between Komen and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical technology.
Which goes back to putting money in prevention and cancer type identification, not cures. The huge, I mean huge number of women who have gone through the agony, pain, and expense of needle biopsies and surgeries should be alarming. But women have been subjected to such incessant scare tactics they not only fall for it, they demand it. Prostate cancer almost went the same way for men. Fortunately that has turned around.
I agree with you Pam. More ounces of prevention, fewer pounds of cure.
When 80% of procedures result in benign findings, something is extremely wrong. When women in the 20% get surgery, sometimes mastectomies, radiation, and cancer causing drugs for types of breast cancer that wouldn't otherwise kill them, something is extremely wrong. Unfortunately money runs the show, the medical community is still male dominated, and as seen with the screening recommendations, it's become politically incorrect to talk about changing things.