Getting yearly physicals makes intuitive sense—routine checkups can pick up early signs of disease and get you on treatment …
screening
Doctors Should Screen All Adults for Obesity, U.S. Panel Says
With more American adults qualifying as obese than ever before, doctors should be screening all adult patients for unhealthy weight, says a government panel.
Physicians Groups Call for Fewer Tests for Patients
Nine professional medical societies are urging doctors and patients to cut back on unnecessary tests and procedures. The question is, Are they listening?
Family MattersHeart Disease
New Advice: Kids Should Be Screened for High Cholesterol
All tweens aged 9 to 11 should have their cholesterol checked to help head off cardiovascular disease early, according to new medical guidelines announced Friday.
Family MattersAIDS
Pediatricians Group Urges Routine HIV Testing for Teens
This week the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement called “Adolescents and HIV Infection.” The title alone garners attention. Teens and HIV?
Q&A: Two Harvard Docs Talk About Making the Best Medical Choices
(Updated) Critical medical decisions can be difficult to make — even for two Harvard doctors. But Dr. Jerome Groopman, who is also a staff writer for the New Yorker, and his wife, Dr. Pamela Hartzband, have thought a great deal …
Two Questions Can Help Doctors Spot Teen Alcohol Problems
Two questions asked during a regular pediatrician’s visit could help identify youth with drinking problems, according to a national expert group convened by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), which …
Prostate Cancer Screening: What You Need to Know
A panel of cancer experts is recommending against testing for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the most commonly used prostate cancer screen, in healthy men.
Study: Men May Benefit from Earlier Colonoscopy, But Women Can Wait
Colonoscopies aren’t the most pleasant medical procedures around, but regular colon-cancer screening can potentially save your life. That’s why doctors and most professional medical organizations recommend that all men and women …
Did Airport Scanners Give Boston TSA Agents Cancer?
(Updated) Could radiation from full-body scanners be responsible for a “cancer cluster” among airport security workers? That’s what Transportation Security Administration union representatives in Boston have claimed.
Screening for Ovarian Cancer Doesn’t Increase Women’s Survival
In general, getting screened for cancer seems like the responsible thing to do, since preventing the disease is always better than treating it once it takes hold. But the latest research shows that screening women for ovarian …
Why Mammograms Are Less Effective Among Breast Cancer Survivors
Sometimes, even in medicine, where it’s all about evidence, we slip and take some things for granted. Such as, for instance, the fact that women who have survived breast cancer should get regular mammogram screenings, so they …
