Clik here to view.
Medical Journalism And The Patient’s Voice In The Media
Yesterday’s post was not really about Avastin, but about medical journalism and how patients’ voices are handled by the media. L. Husten, writing on a Forbes blog, cried that the press fawned,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can The Approval Process For Cancer Drugs Be Accelerated?
If you’ve read my blogs for a while, or look up some past blogs, you’ll see I have been frustrated at times with the FDA. Yes, they have a tough job protecting us from medical products that are unsafe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Convincing The Public Of The Importance Of Evidence-Based Medicine
On October 4th, 2011, I delivered the Alex Drapos Memorial Lecture at Clark University as part of their ongoing President’s Lecture Series. Here’s what Jim Keogh, Director of News and Editorial...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Avastin’s Approval Revoked: Harvard Health Publications Uncovers The FDA’s...
Last week, the FDA revoked its 2008 approval of the drug Avastin to treat breast cancer, concluding that the drug does little to help women with breast cancer while putting them at risk for potentially...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Avastin For Breast Cancer: Will The FDA Revoke It?
Time to get back up on my soap box. Next month the FDA is supposed to consider taking the unique, first-time-ever step of revoking a drug’s indication not because it’s dangerous, but because it doesn’t...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Avastin: The FDA’s “Disappointing Decision”
“With this disappointing decision, the FDA has chosen to place itself between patients and their doctors by rationing access to a life-extending drug. . . We can’t allow this government takeover of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Importance Of Shared Decision-Making In Health Care Discussions
In a comment left on my blog, Jamie Bearse, the chief operating officer of Project Zero – The Project to End Prostate Cancer, showed how quickly and deeply discussions about screening tests can devolve...
View ArticleClik here to view.
NPR Addresses Upcoming Final Decision On Avastin’s Fate
On the NPR Shots blog, Scott Hensley addresses, “Avastin For Breast Cancer: Hope Versus False Hope.” Excerpt: Any day now FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg is expected to make a final decision on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cancer Drug Has Potential To Treat Chronic Ear Infections
I read with astonishment that a class of cancer drugs known as VEGF Inhibitors (ie, Avastin and Erbitux) used to treat colorectal, lung, breast, and kidney cancers can also be used to potentially...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Health Care’s Tragedy Of The Commons
There are at least two conversations going on in the health care marketplace today, each focused on one of two key questions. One is: How can we achieve the Triple Aim? The other is: Why do they get to...
View Article
