…is analysed here. (free link) There is also a piece about Breastlight at Pulse (free with free registration.) and here’s the link to today’s ASA page where PWB health, who make Breastlight,feature. feature. Their website doesn’t say ‘detects cancer early’ anymore. But I’m still not happy.
Continue Reading →The Advertising Standards Authority – fit for purpose?
I’ve just had a complaint responded to. The company concerned will now apparently withdraw their non evidenced based claim that their product “helps detect cancer early”. This claim has been made for some time, it’s nonsense, and it’s right that it goes. But: the letter from the ASA says that since the company will voluntarily amend their […]
Continue Reading →What’s a conflict of interest when it comes to breast screening?
The medical press is carrying a lot about the latest international arguments about breast screening. The BMJ carried an excellent editorial ‘Mammography wars” highlighting the recent Canadian taskforce on the subject. This called for a halt to routine breast examination, and a starting age of 50 before starting screening mammography, which they recommended to be […]
Continue Reading →Review of breast cancer screening evidence
Professor Susan Bewley challenged Prof Mike Richards on the evidence for her invite to breast screening, in the BMJ. He responded by saying a review was already underway, but it sounds like a weird review. He says that “An independent review of the research evidence (randomised controlled studies and observational studies) is being undertaken, led […]
Continue Reading →Choices for screening and paternalism
Luisa Dillner wrote a statistically correct and informative article about breast screening in the Guardian recently; she has been replied to by Chris Askew, the chief executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. He makes a big mistake. In his first paragraph, he says “Breakthrough Breast Cancer hopes this will not discourage women from attending their breast-screening […]
Continue Reading →How useful are lifetime risks of disease?
Free access to an article in the BMJ about the hype over ‘1 in 8’ women will get breast cancer, here.
Continue Reading →Cancer Research UK and 1 in 8
Radio 4 news: “1 in 8 women will get breast cancer”. It’s based on a press release from Cancer Research UK. And it is not helpful: these are the figures, below, for risk of breast cancer you want to know (from their press release) . At present, the headline figure media outlets are using isn’t helpful, and […]
Continue Reading →Breast health and 1 in 9 again
There are so many things to say that are wrong about the new Breast Health UK service that I’d need all night to write about them. Let me concentrate on just one thing: no, not their offer to perform breast examination on the asymptomatic woman and then teach them how to do it (although it’s […]
Continue Reading →Breastlight….the never ending story….
apparantly the MHRA are still looking into whether or not this product should be allowable in current form. I am told that there may be restrictions placed on advertising it compared to what we have at the moment. However the final decision has not yet been reached. It’s November; the issue was raised in January; […]
Continue Reading →Bleak October for breast awareness
What do a prawn sandwich, a pair of Laura Ashley pjamas, crocus bulbs and some raspberry chocolate got in common? You can buy them all in aid of Breast Cancer. This is ‘breast cancer awareness month’. I have been attempting to suggest that perhaps it isn’t such a good idea for the last decade at […]
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