HARMFUL HEADLINES.

HARMFUL HEADLINES. The author of the article, Gina Kolata, is a good science writer, but I don’t understand how or why the article was written, and it seems to me that it can be harmful. The article indicates that the American Cancer Society is “quietly” working on a statement about mammograms to be published next year, and yet the article quotes a spokesman for the Society giving what amounts to vague statements depreciating the value of mammograms. A biostatistician at Sloan-Kettering is quoted as saying; “I am concerned that the complex view of a changing landscape will be distilled by the public into yet another ‘screening does not work’ headline.” Ironically, the headline of the article is: “Cancer Society, in Shift, Has Concerns on Screenings.” And—again ironically—The first sentence of the article is: “The American Cancer Society, which has long been a staunch defender of most cancer screening, is now saying that the benefits of detecting many cancers, especially breast and prostate, have been overstated.”