Overtested Americans: When Cancer Isn’t Cancer at All (CNN)

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In a story about cancer diagnosis, CNN turns for comment to H. Gilbert Welch, a professor of medicine at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.

The author of Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health, Welch notes that everyone harbors abnormalities, and new technology makes it possible to detect more of them, leading to more diagnoses and more treatment.

Welch discusses factors affecting cancer diagnosis and its aftermath: One is that doctors are trained to “find stuff and to take care of that stuff,” and another is the current emphasis on patient awareness and the importance of screening.

Read the full story, published 7/30/13 by CNN.

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