In the continuing saga of two “miracle” drugs for those who suffer from non-Hodgkins lymphomas… the fifth most common cancer…. I told you six months ago about Bexxar and Zevalin, the two drugs which can treat non-Hodgkins lymphoma but were not being promoted by oncologists in private practice because they cannot, by law, administer it. […]
Yanking the Cure Rug Out From Under Lymphoma Patients Read More »
In 2003, after taking Zoloft for six weeks to help him sleep, Woody Witczak, a vivacious, intelligent, energetic and happy man, hung himself — and died. ………………….. Last evening I leafed through my December issue of Consumer Reports. There on page 65 was my friend and colleague Kim Witczak, Woody’s widow, and one of the
Psych Drugs, Shady Practices and One Fixer Read More »
See if you can get your arms around the following conundrum, which is typical of our dysfunctional American Healthcare System — only this time with a twist. We’ll begin with point-of-view: Consumers (that’s us patients!): When we need a prescription drug to improve our health, we want the best drug for what ails us, at
Kickbacks: Doctors, Pharma, Insurance and Surprise! Patients Caught in the Middle Read More »
Not only was I privileged to contribute to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal (You Doctor’s Business Ties are Your Business, Too ) — but I actually learned even more than I knew before from the article! The question asked by the author, David Armstrong, was whether patients have a right to know about
WSJ Interviews Every Patient’s Advocate Read More »
Not only was I privileged to contribute to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal (You Doctor’s Business Ties are Your Business, Too ) — but I actually learned even more than I knew before from the article! The question asked by the author, David Armstrong, was whether patients have a right to know about
WSJ Interviews Every Patient’s Advocate Read More »
I learned this week that a loved one who has been battling cancer for many years was encouraged to sign up for an online personal health record (PHR) called Caring 4 Cancer. It’s a perfect example of the kind of PHR that I think can be dangerous for patients because there is no privacy. Even
Another PHR Program that Violates Your Privacy Read More »
When the doctor wants us to take a certain drug, he provides us with a prescription, which we take to the pharmacist to fill. When we decide on our own to take a drug, we go to the pharmacy to purchase it. It’s considered “over the counter” (OTC) because it’s sitting on a shelf, available
Behind the Counter Drugs? Read More »
I read news reports relating to health and medicine every day. Many of them are medical research study reports — usually interesting — but they also make me question how they are being interpreted. Here’s what I mean: We are a nation of statistics, and statistics are the standard of proof. They are the foundation
One-Third of Readers Will Shake Their Heads Read More »
