Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Innappropriate Optimism

A study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that media coverage of cancer can mislead people.
The tendency of the news to report on aggressive cancer treatments and survival but not on alternatives is also noteworthy given that unrealistic information may mislead the public about the trade-offs between attempts at heroic cures and hospice care. Several studies have suggested that end-of-life information may help patients with cancer develop realistic expectations for end-of-life medical care and improve outcomes.

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