Shout Outs

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. and it was easier than checking each one.

How to Cope with Pain is this week's host of Grand Rounds. You can read this week’s edition here (photo credit).

Our theme for this edition of Grand Rounds is Pain.  As you might have guessed from the name of this blog, I write about all things related to coping with pain.  What’s a pain-free way to present all the great submissions?  As Thanksgiving is coming up this week, Grand Rounds is served to you today as a Thanksgiving feast.
So with a drum(stick) roll

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A post full of reason by Orac on USPSTF new recommendations for screening mammography: Really rethinking breast cancer screening (November 18, 2009)

"Early detection saves lives."

Remember how I started a post a year and a half ago saying just this? I did it because that is the default assumption and has been so for quite a while. It's an eminently reasonable-sounding concept that just makes sense. As I pointed out a year and a half ago, though, the question of the benefits of the early detection of cancer is more complicated than you think. Indeed, I've written several posts since then on the topic of mammography and breast cancer, the most recent of which I posted just last week. As studies have been released and my thinking on screening for breast cancer has evolved, regular readers have had a front row seat. Through it all, I hope I've managed to convey some of the issues involved in screening for cancer and just how difficult they are.

This week, all I can say is, "Here we go again."

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This one by Charles Bankhead (MedPage Today) covers the history of Breast Cancer Screening: New Fuel for an Old War of Words and Data

…….Although media coverage might have created the impression of a new controversy, the strong, conflicting opinions go back at least as far as 1969, when initial results of the first large-scale breast cancer screening program were announced. Data from the Health Insurance Plan (HIP) of Greater New York showed a 30% reduction in breast cancer mortality in women ages 40 to 64 who underwent clinical breast examination and screening mammography (JAMA 1971; 215: 1777-85)……..

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As we get ready for Thanksgiving cooking perhaps you’ll enjoy this post by Jennifer Ouellette, Cocktail Party Physics, entitled Taster's Choice

……..cooking, done properly, is not about blindly following recipes: it involves a lot of prediction and testing by experiment to get a dish just right. The recipes just give you the basic framework. It's even more of a science these days, with the rise of molecular gastronomy (about which I blogged three years ago), sous vide (read Lee's take here), and other cutting edge techniques that combine technology with basic chemistry to create new dishes that appeal to our taste perception. …….

(Achatz had tongue cancer a couple of years ago and many feared he would lose his world-famous sense of taste; but doctors were able to beat back the cancer without resorting to damaging chemotherapy.) …….

The link she supplies on Achatz is very interesting. Turns out he had Stage IV tongue cancer.

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From Better Health: Dr. Val Tells ABC News About Hospital Errors And How To Avoid Them.

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Don’t forget the contest Dr Wes and his wife, Diane, are holding: US Healthcare Reform Photoshop Contest. Winner will receive an 8Meg iPod Touch.

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Bob Coffield, Health Care Blog Law, has written a post inspired by his grandfather’s medical record system: A 1930 Medical Record. Bob included photos of the record in his post.

I was recently in my hometown of New Martinsville visiting my dad, a retired family physician. When I arrived he had waiting for me a copy of one of my grandfather's medical records from the 1930s. My grandfather, Dr. Albert Coffield, practiced rural medicine in Wetzel County, West Virginia from 1911 until his death in 1936.

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Dr. Chris Coppola,  Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq, was interviewed on NPR:   A Child's Doctor Turns To Iraq War's Youngest Victims.  Very nice interview!

Dr. Chris Coppola was a pediatrician in the U.S. before he shipped off to Iraq. As a military surgeon, he expected to treat soldiers, but he found himself helping war-ravaged Iraqi children as well. Host Liane Hansen speaks with Dr. Coppola about his memoir, Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq.

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A great tutorial from Threads Magazine: Machine Quilt a Supple and Stylish Garment by Mary Ray.

It’s that time of year when a cozy quilted jacket is just the thing. But you don’t want to look like you grabbed the cover off your bed and threw it around your shoulders. Here’s how to make a quilted garment composed of three layers – fashion fabric, batting, and backing – that has shape, some great surface texture, and is stylish and flattering to wear.

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Due to Thanksgiving, the Dr Anonymous’ show has been moved to Wednesday this week.  The show starts at 9 pm EST.

12/3: Dr. Lisa and Tale Of My Left Foot