Archive | June, 2014

Overdiagnosed_Welch

It Is Time to Reset Expectations About Immortality

I have recently spoken with two smart people who have optimistic views about future advances in medical technology that might enable cures for cancer, viral infections, paralysis, organ regeneration, etc. Invoking stem cell therapy, nanotechnology, spectrophotometry, genetic manipulation, immunomodulation and other biotechnologies, they argue for dramatic progress, if not Ray Kurzweil’s coming singularity (when “humans transcend biology”). […]

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3d rendered illustration of a polyp removal

State-of-the-Art Screening Saves Lives, But At What Cost?

When I finished my medical training I joined a generation of internists and sub-specialists who believed the next great advances would be in prevention of death by early diagnosis and treatment. A large part of our medical practice involved screening for “problems.” After 32 years of practice I came to the conclusion that screening for […]

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Sam_Milton_photo

Sam’s 45th High School Reunion

It is dawn after my high school reunion at Milton Academy, just south of Boston. I’m waiting for the taxi, then a long bus ride home to Maine. My classmates are dispersing soon. I am anxious to get north and start the summer, indeed to start the next phase. This past five weeks in limbo, in D.C., […]

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