Pioneering the granny pod: Fairfax County family adapts to high-tech dwelling that could change elder care - The Washington Post

<div></div><p>Viola Baez wouldn't budge.</p><p>Her daughter's family had just invested about $125,000 in a new kind of home for her, <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050503074.html">a high-tech cottage </a>that might revolutionize the way Americans care for their aging relatives. But Viola wouldn't even step inside.</p><p>She told her family she would rather continue living in the family's dining room than move into the shed-size dwelling that had been lowered by crane into the back yard of their Fairfax County home.</p><p>"You're throwing me out! You're sending me out to a doghouse! Why not put me in a manicomio?" Viola, 88 , told them, using the Spanish word for madhouse.</p><p>Then the air conditioner blew. As temperatures and tempers soared in the main house, Viola's family coaxed her into the cottage to cool off. Viola stayed the night, then another, and another, until summer had turned to fall.</p><p>As the first private inhabitant of a MedCottage, Viola is a reluctant pioneer in <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/comingofage/index.html?hpid=topnews">the search for alternatives to nursing homes for aging Americans</a>. Her relatives agonized over the best way to care for Viola only after her ability to care for herself became questionable. Their decision exposed intergenerational friction that worsened after the new dwelling arrived.</p><p>The <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2010/05/05/GR2010050505248.html">MedCottage</a>, designed by a Blacksburg company with help from Virginia Tech, is essentially a portable hospital room. Virginia state law, which recognized the dwellings a few years ago, classifies them as "temporary family health-care structures." But many simply know them as "<a data-xslt="_http" href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2010/05/post_1.html">granny pod</a>s," and they have arrived on the market as the nation prepares for <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/15/AR2007091501654.html">a wave of graying baby boomers </a>to retire.</p><p>Over the past decade, the population of Americans who are 65 or older has grown faster than the total population, the Census Bureau says. In less than 20 years, the number of Americans who are 65 or older will top 72 million, or more than twice the population of older Americans in 2000, and many will need to <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/former-hud-secretary-henry-cisneros-talks-about-aging-in-place/2012/08/10/14536f9e-d5b8-11e1-a9e3-c5249ea531ca_story.html">find living arrangements</a> that balance their need for independence and special care.</p><p>Viola's family understood this. Her daughter, Socorrito Baez-Page, 56, who goes by Soc, and her son-in-law, David Page, 59 — both of whom are doctors — began planning her care well before Viola's husband died of cancer last February. They explored many options and had firsthand experience with several. Soc and David had taken care of or arranged various types of care, including assisted living and hospice, for other parents.</p><p>Their decision to buy the first MedCottage in private use, along with Viola's bumpy adjustment to life inside it, offers a look at an unusual solution to an increasingly common situation and the emotional trade-offs that arise from it.</p><p><strong>Daily routines</strong></p><p>The soft whoosh of an oxygen machine fills the MedCottage when Viola opens her eyes at the light streaming from the windows above her bed.</p><p>"Hello," Soc says.</p><p>Soc has been up for a while. She stands almost at the center of the MedCottage, a self-enclosed space that blends bedroom, kitchenette, foyer and bath the way that a fork and spoon combine to form a spork. Soc has already folded up the rollout bed where she has spent the night at her mother's side, and performed other chores before Viola wakes.</p><p>Viola asks for a bathrobe, and Soc helps her into it, careful not to tangle the oxygen tubes trailing from her mother's nose.</p><p>A week after Viola underwent surgery to remove a cataract, Viola's left eye also looks puffy, as if she's been crying again, as she has almost daily since her husband died.</p><p>"Open your eye," Soc says, speaking in Spanish, as she administers drops. Viola blinks, as if it's painful.</p><p>"Eyes closed, please," Soc says. "Cinco minuto."</p><p>After the eye medicine, Viola maneuvers her walker across the MedCottage to the bathroom. While Viola washes up, Soc brews a mug of instant coffee for her in the microwave oven and prepares a vaporizer that delivers Viola's asthma medicine.</p><p>Viola's walker squeaks softly as she returns and takes a seat at the kitchenette's counter. Her hands tremble as she takes the mug and sips the coffee through the straw, so as not to spill any hot liquid.</p><p>When the vaporizer is ready, Soc puts a mask on Viola. While mist pours from the vents in her mother's face mask, Soc rummages through a cabinet filled with medicine bottles and puts pills in a small cup at her mother's elbow. Then Soc prepares her mother's breakfast, which is crackers and string cheese.</p><p>Viola appears small, hunkered down in her chair. But her eyes can become huge when she talks about growing up in Puerto Rico or her life with her late husband. At times, she struggles for words, but when they come, they flow in a rush, sometimes in Spanish. She chuckles with pride when she recalls driving a motorcycle on her honeymoon in Florida, and then becomes somber in a swift change of mood. Tears well in her eyes one afternoon as she explains that she is in "luto," wearing only black or dark clothing as a sign of mourning.</p><p>"He treated me like I was a queen," she says of her husband. "Without him, nothing is special. Nothing."</p><p>Overhead, a small green light blinks, an indicator that one of the MedCottage's surveillance cameras is powered up and that perhaps an additional family member is watching Viola, too.</p><p><strong>Design elements</strong></p><p>Several firms have entered the market for <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/housing/info-10-2010/custom_prefab_adus_the_home_store.html">auxiliary dwelling units</a>, or ADUs, as they're known in the building industry. These include <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://fabcab.com/products/fabcab-homes/">FabCab</a>, a Seattle-based company that makes ADUs and full-size homes. <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.palsbuilt.com/">Practical Assisted Living Solutions</a>, or PALS, a firm based in Meriden, Conn., makes freestanding modules; and the <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.the-homestore.com/">Home Store</a>, which is headquartered in Whately, Mass., sells modular "in-law" additions called "Elderly Cottage Housing Opportunity" additions.</p><p>The MedCottage in Fairfax is about 12 by 24 feet, the size of a typical master bedroom. With its beige aluminum siding — and cosmetic touches such as green shutters — the cottage looks a little like an elaborate dollhouse. The interior, painted gray and white, seems so airy and comfortable that Soc jokes about reusing the dwelling someday as a mountain cabin.</p><p>The idea for the MedCottage came from the Rev. Kenneth J. Dupin, a minister in southwest Virginia who wondered why Americans didn't take better care of their elders. He created <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://medcottage.com/">N2Care</a>, a company that designed the MedCottage with help from the <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.vtcrc.com/">Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center</a>. They stuffed its steel shell with the latest in biometric and communications technology, and <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/20/AR2009022000041.html">crafted its features using universal design principles to accommodate people of all ages and people with disabilities</a>. The company's sales pitch includes dropping an egg onto its specially designed floor from a height of 7 feet to show that the egg won't break.</p><p>"People think it's a rubber egg until we hold it over a hard surface and drop it from 5 inches," said Chris M. Cummins, executive vice president of MedCare Systems, a Mechanicsville, Va.-based distributor.</p><p>In addition to surveillance cameras, the dwelling has an Internet portal by which family members, doctors or other caregivers can monitor an occupant's vital signs, receive medical alerts or change the dwelling's temperature and security settings. The MedCottage retails for about $85,000, but with delivery and installation, Viola's family has spent closer to $125,000.</p><p>"Most people look at that and get sticker shock," Cummins said.</p><p>But Cummins also said that the company offers financing and repurchase programs that make the MedCottage a bargain compared with assisted-living facilities that charge $40,000 or more a year.</p><p><strong>Family drama</strong></p><p>Viola's family is close-knit. Soc recalls taking her daughters, Erin and Shannon, to the Kennedy Center for a National Symphony Orchestra concert when the girls were so little that they listened while perched in car seats.</p><p>Although Erin, 30, is now a lawyer and Shannon, 28, teaches in Fairfax schools, the family still goes to the symphony en masse, and the daughters still live in the family's 1972 split-level on Vengo Court.</p><p>The family is strikingly candid about the stress that comes with Viola's daily care. Her physical problems include spinal stenosis, arthritis and asthma, and she takes about 16 medications. Relatives say Viola has traits that would challenge any caregiver, and some have become more conspicuous with age. She is moodier now, and needier. When Viola went into an assisted-living facility temporarily for physical therapy after a fall, she threw a fit that lasted hours. Soc calmed her by promising not to leave. Soc stayed for so long every day that eventually administrators told Soc the arrangement could not continue.</p><p>"She's very clingy, very persnickety about things," Soc said.</p><p>Viola's late husband, Luis Baez, also pampered her. He was a first lieutenant in the Army when they married. Later, as a civilian architect for the Navy and the Coast Guard, he helped design the Westwind class of icebreakers. In the 1950s, he and Viola bought an Arlington County duplex. But their home became difficult to maneuver as they aged. About the time Luis began thinking of alternatives, he became ill with rapidly progressing renal cancer.</p><p>Soc and David began discussing whether Viola would move in, whether to build an addition, or whether Viola should go into an assisted-living residence. Viola and Luis disliked nursing homes, and Soc's property was not well suited for an addition. Then Soc read about the MedCottage, which Luis endorsed before his death.</p><p>When Luis, 82, died Feb. 28, Viola's granddaughters took turns staying at her Arlington home while Soc and David arranged the MedCottage purchase. Then Viola moved into the house on Vengo Court.</p><p>But there were problems. Living in the family's dining room, Viola disliked being so close to the kitchen when people were cooking. She complained about getting around in the house, saying that there were too many steps, not enough handrails, and that the shower was hard to access. She fought over the thermostat setting because she was too cold, even when everyone else was sweating. And she hated being alone. She wouldn't shower unless someone was nearby.</p><p>By late June, the MedCottage arrived. Workers cut down trees to make room and a crane lowered the cottage onto six concrete piers in the yard.</p><p>Relatives brought photographs of Viola's grandchildren and knickknacks, including a colorful row of miniature houses. Over the bed they hung Roman Catholic icons, including a painting of "Nuestra Senora del Perpetuos Socorro," whose name, like Soc's, means "help" in Spanish.</p><p>But Viola wanted nothing to do with the place. As the standoff dragged on, Soc worried that their money had been wasted, that their MedCottage would end up being the biggest, most expensive storage shed on the planet. Then the air conditioner in the house went kaput, and Viola retreated to the MedCottage for relief.</p><p>Viola now seems used to her new home. On a cabinet in the kitchenette sits a row of faded black-and-white photographs of Viola, wearing a pretty dress and an alluring smile, that she sent to her new husband when he was away on duty.</p><p>Although the MedCottage has made it possible for Viola to live a few steps away from her family, Soc sometimes wishes that Viola were as self-assured and independent as the younger version in those old photos.</p><p>But these days, the family also counts it as a small victory when Viola comes to dinner in the main house and then returns without a fuss to "my place."</p><div><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/pioneering-the-granny-pod-fairfax-county-family-adapts-to-high-tech-dwelling-that-could-change-elder-care/2012/11/25/4d9ccb44-1e18-11e2-ba31-3083ca97c314_story.html?hpid=z2">http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/pioneering-the-granny-pod-fairfax-county-family-adapts-to-high-tech-dwelling-that-could-change-elder-care/2012/11/25/4d9ccb44-1e18-11e2-ba31-3083ca97c314_story.html?hpid=z2</a></div><div><br></div>

Pioneering the granny pod: Fairfax County family adapts to high-tech dwelling that could change elder care - The Washington Post

Viola Baez wouldn't budge. Her daughter's family had just invested about $125,000 in a new kind of home for her,  a high-tech cottag...

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Fruit That's It!

<div style="text-align: center;">I recently received these treats as part of the Healthy Surprise box. In the box it had a bunch of treats that are organic and healthy, which is good! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> These days lately I am all about healthy! Whether it's eating healthy, exercising or drinking water. So before I go to work everyday I pack a snack or a lunch. I packed one of the That's It Fruit Bars.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> As I started getting hungry in the middle of the day I grabbed it and thought this sounds pretty good because it's packed with fruit and healthy too. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> So I carefully opened the wrapper and took my first bite! It comes across as a granola bar, but taste like a healthy fruit by the foot! I am so in love with them!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I was disappointed that in the box they only offered two flavors! So I looked on the That's It website and I saw that they had them on the locator at Whole Foods, I go there a lot! I went to Whole Foods and looked for them and couldn't find them. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Maybe they were sold out who knows, All I know is that I love them and can't wait to try the other flavors! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRISpkNwH0_fhOPc5HHDaEH2QO39qOrxFmxxt_0VQ6o2fg2lwC0BEOYjWoLiNqXfepoLM5DSXXfXggvE9WcX690yX9bF-pHpGDRiGpP3ObaT9UCXs335NNTblcn1DFHy4XXlCfYxXxek8/s1600/that%2527s+it.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRISpkNwH0_fhOPc5HHDaEH2QO39qOrxFmxxt_0VQ6o2fg2lwC0BEOYjWoLiNqXfepoLM5DSXXfXggvE9WcX690yX9bF-pHpGDRiGpP3ObaT9UCXs335NNTblcn1DFHy4XXlCfYxXxek8/s320/that%2527s+it.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><a href="http://www.thatsitfruit.com/shopbuy-our-products/"></a>

Fruit That's It!

I recently received these treats as part of the Healthy Surprise box. In the box it had a bunch of treats that are organic and healthy, wh...

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SchoolNet webinars 27 November – 29 November 2012

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit07I3KQr752-wv1Ne8ztVBox8pJtkvvnp23B_hbrkb86a3iijxiQsSO3okDoDOG8-7z07V4TsbPpps6rjEd3mVb5uD4CRR8hbc4jI1viSW1Qixcx5RZscVbjp9b4tEen3hX_-r_JO0b0/s1600-h/webinars1%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="webinars1" border="0" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHtEGo_uYSiyJ5JNLUCyU2zAZD6kiZkpmvsQzDU_NKTuFTNo3C0JT9kOaCyNByHCK1opTScbOxpbbVv5v88L2fxeZyxvPfZw0AI9NrSKuc1N3q4sVCZ4qTqmBzDlrRnafgwsVTPW5z_k/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="webinars1" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are our SchoolNet webinars for this week - Do join us if you can. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>(1) Bring Your Own Device – does it work?</b></span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Summary</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two educators relate the ins and outs plus successes of introducing the BYOD approach at their schools. In the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ approach the students are encouraged to bring their own technology like smartphones, tablets, and laptops to school for educational use in the classroom. </span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Presenters</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michele Botha from Somerset House in Somerset West will speak on ‘Our BYOD pilot in Grades 6 and 7’  </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nina Adams from St Cyprians in Cape Town calls her presentation ‘To BYOD'ly go....’</span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tues 27 Nov 2012: 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM</span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time Zone</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(GMT+02:00) Harare, Pretoria</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Link: </span><a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/byod/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/byod/</a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>(2) </b><strong>Get the hang of a Google Hangout</strong></span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Summary</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This webinar introduces you to Google hangouts which have great potential for educators. Hangouts are free video chats from Google that enables both one-on-one chats and group chats with up to ten people at a time (apparently now up to 15 if used for education). You can watch YouTube videos, share documents, collaborate on a Google document or use a whiteboard to name but a few of the amazing features. </span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Presenter</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fiona Beal</span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday 29 Nove. 2012: 6:00 PM - 6:15 PM</span><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time Zone</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(GMT+02:00) Harare, Pretoria</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">URL: </span><a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/hangout/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/hangout/</a></div>

webinars SchoolNet webinars 27 November – 29 November 2012

These are our SchoolNet webinars for this week - Do join us if you can. (1) Bring Your Own Device – does it work? Summary : Two educators re...

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Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 11/26/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="https://teachers.io">Teachers.io</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Another option for organizing classes and sharing your syllabus and work. There are a lot of options out there. It is important for schools to plan how work will lbe disseminated and students will connect. Bricks and CLICKS are important decisons for schools to make - where will students meet face to face and online. It is time to be discussing this now - particularly for middle and high school.  "Schedule Teachers.io helps you organize your class schedule, so you know what's coming up next.Your class information can easily be copied between sections and semesters too."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/apps">apps</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ipad">ipad</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/byot">byot</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/byod">byod</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="https://myhomeworkapp.com">myHomework Student Planner</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">An app that some students are using to organize homework. It is worth a look.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/homework">homework</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/apps">apps</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ipad">ipad</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ipadchat">ipadchat</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.classroomdiy.com/2012/11/diy-poinsettia-craft.html">Classroom DIY: DIY Poinsettia Craft</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">This craft gives you information on how to make a poinsettia, a craft some of you teachers may enjoy in December.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/elementary_teacher">elementary_teacher</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/elementary">elementary</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/craft">craft</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/December">December</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.thecurriculumcentre.org/blog/2012/11/20/review-each-lesson-plan-in-terms-of-what-the-student-is-likely-to-think-about/">‘Review each lesson plan in terms of what the student is likely to think about.’ | The Curriculum Centre Blog</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Fascinating read about current cognitive research and lesson plans and information on education reform in the UK, which is being driven largely by the mentioned book in this quote. If you want to look at the research being discussed in the UK, I'd start with this article. "In Why Don’t Students Like School, Willingham says that ‘the most general and useful idea that cognitive psychology can offer teachers’ is to ‘review each lesson plan in terms of what the student is likely to think about’. I could not agree more. Last year I applied this idea to every single lesson I taught, and I apply it now to all the resources I design. It may sound obvious but it was not something I did before I read Willingham, and it absolutely was not something that my teacher training taught me to think about. Students are more likely to remember something they’ve had to think about – or, in another of Willingham’s phrases, memory is the residue of thought. So we need to make sure that students are thinking about the right thing for the whole lesson. That way there is a better chance they will remember it. This approach also eliminates dull rote-learning. If pupils are always thinking about the right thing and thinking about its meaning, then they are more likely to remember it, and to remember it meaningfully."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/research">research</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/cognition">cognition</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.smartappsforkids.com/2012/11/the-top-100-apps-for-kids-61-70.html">The Top 100 Apps for Kids: 61-70! - Smart Apps For Kids</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">This website lists popular apps for kids and I find interesting apps on the list. Several I've heard teachers mention include Brainpop and Hungry Fish math.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ipad">ipad</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2012/11/khan_academy_releases_new_app_for_iphone_ipod_touch.html">Khan Academy Releases New App for iPhone & iPod Touch, Giving You Mobile Access to 3600 Videos</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Whether you love or hate them, the sheer volume of their repository and the fact that some videos are useful has them in the limelight -- Bill Gates, their primary benefactor, also pushes them there, even though many of their videos have come under fire. This is an app to test and note. "Non-profit Khan Academy, an organization dedicated to “providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere,” does so primarily through online video courses and lectures. The over 3600 videos are free and access is open to anyone (anywhere), allowing K-12 students to study math, science, computer science, finance & economics, humanities, and test prep. The organization was founded in 2006 by MIT and Harvard grad Salman Khan, who began by tutoring relatives and friends in Bangladesh while he worked as a hedge fund analyst in the States. His videos became so in-demand that he decided to quit his job and distribute them full-time, funded by donations from individuals and major donors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flipclass">flipclass</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/khanacademy">khanacademy</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 11/26/2012

Teachers.io Another option for organizing classes and sharing your syllabus and work. There are a lo...

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Customer Experience Manager - Hartford Public Library

<strong>Customer Experience Manager - </strong><span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Hartford Public Library</strong></span> is going through transformation. If you enjoy a rewarding work environment where your hard work can truly make a difference, come join us! We are looking for an experienced innovative leader who will be responsible for managing the operations and activities of the Downtown Library’s customer service operations. Responsibilities: The successful candidate will have a vision and understanding of library services with an eye to the future and the contemporary needs of the public. Results oriented, committed to collaboration and having fun. Excellent communicator and have a proven ability to implement and lead change. Ensures and facilitates the delivery of high-quality, customer focused services. Qualifications: Masters degree in library science from an ALA-accredited program required. Five (5) years management and three (3) years supervisory experience in public library services, including demonstrated ability to implement strategic library objectives with measurable outcomes, effectively supervise and motive staff, and develop and maintain positive relationships with community. Direct experience as a customer service leader. Salary range: starting at $55,168, dependent upon experience. Equal Opportunity Employer. Job description and application are available from the Administrative Offices, Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103 and on our website; <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.hplct.org" href="http://www.hplct.org/" target="_blank">www.hplct.org</a>. Hartford Public Library requires a Criminal Background Check and Pre-employment Drug Testing on applicants who are selected as a finalist for the position. Applicants will be provided a copy of any positive drug test results. A criminal record does not necessarily eliminate you from employment with Hartford Public Library. Each conviction will be reviewed with respect to the offense, circumstances, seriousness and the position for which you apply. Deadline: <span style="color: red;">December 22, 2012</span>.

Customer Experience Manager - Hartford Public Library

Customer Experience Manager - Hartford Public Library is going through transformation. If you enjoy a rewarding work environment where yo...

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<br /><div class="RXart" style="background-color: white; padding-right: 20px; text-align: left;"><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -30px;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #000066; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline">How to network via social media</span></h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">By Susan Ricker, CareerBuilder Writer</span></b><br /><div class="cb_share_more_wrapper"></div></div><br /><div class="ArticleContent"><div style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="media-image" src="http://artstg.icbdr.com/sites/all/files/styles/large/public/Networking%20via%20social%20media_0.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Facebook is great for staying in touch with friends, sharing funny cat videos or seeing what an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend is up to, but can it help you get a job? Absolutely. Social-media websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are great platforms for networking and keeping up with industry trends.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"The benefits can be huge. Although time consuming, if you do it correctly, you can gain lots of attention, fans, followers and clients," says Ashley Jones, owner of <a href="http://www.skylightcreativegroup.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Skylight Creative Group</a>, a marketing, graphic design and photography company. "I've done a lot of networking through social media for myself personally, my two companies and also helping other companies through their startup/launch process."</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Here are Jones' top seven tips for networking via social media:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>1. Don't post something just to post it.</strong> Make sure your content is relevant or interesting.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>2. If you're using social media to network, stay professional.</strong> There's a tendency to relax and get too casual or personal.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>3. Use the tools to their full potential.</strong> If you're on LinkedIn, join groups, answer questions or get your name and profile out there to meet new people. No matter the platform, don't expect people to come to you if you're not engaging.  </div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>4. Don't spam or post too frequently.</strong> People are bombarded with updates, messages, etc., and if you post too much fluff, you'll lose your audience fast.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>5. Don't just post the same thing across different platforms.</strong> It's OK if you occasionally post something you tweeted to Facebook or upload a Facebook photo to Pinterest, but if you're constantly posting the same content across all platforms, why would anyone follow you on more than one platform?</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>6. Keep your content fresh.</strong> Don't let your last post sit for a month before another update. Keep things new so people come back and check for updates.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><strong>7. Follow up with connections.</strong> While this may be  time-consuming, it goes a long way when you respond to a comment, post or message. It's a great way to let your fans or followers know you care.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The key to networking is becoming an active part of the community or industry of interest. Contribute to the conversation. Ask for advice about your current job or job prospect. Interact with others, and thoughtfully answer their questions. Post links to relevant articles you find. Networking should be a mutually beneficial experience, so if someone helps you, return the favor.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><em>Susan Ricker is a writer and blogger for </em><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><em>CareerBuilder.com</em></a><em> and its job blog, </em><a href="http://www.theworkbuzz.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>The Work Buzz</em></a><em>. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.</em></div><br /></div></div>

How to network via social media By Susan Ricker, CareerBuilder Writer Facebook is great for staying in touch with friends, sharing funny cat...

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Business Resource Center Coordinator - Simsbury Public Library

<strong>Business Resource Center Coordinator -</strong> <strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Simsbury Public Library</span></strong> is looking for a dynamic librarian with a passion for business and entrepreneurship to take their award-winning Business Resource Center to a new level of service. You should have strong teaching, problem-solving and people skills. You should also demonstrate a commitment to helping jobseekers and businesses of all sizes grow and prosper. Business experience is preferred. The position requires some evening and weekend hours. RESPONSIBILITIES: Plan, execute, promote and evaluate Business Resource Center programs and services. REQUIREMENTS: MLS from ALA accredited program. Must be self-directed, well organized, and able to meet deadlines and multiple demands. Thorough knowledge of business/employment/career information resources. Thorough knowledge of marketing and public relations principles. Thorough knowledge of principles and practices of effective customer service. Demonstrated ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, to a variety of audiences. Inventive approach to the development of new services; commitment to responsive and innovative service is essential. Highly Desirable: Teaching experience using active learning techniques; demonstrated competence in using business and productivity software. Business/marketing background preferred. SALARY: $58,280 - $69,652 plus benefits for a 35 hour work week. TO APPLY: Submit application and resume at <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.simsbury-ct.gov/jobs" href="http://www.simsbury-ct.gov/jobs" target="_blank">www.simsbury-ct.gov/jobs</a>. Deadline: Sunday <span style="color: red;">December 16, 2012</span>. No paper applications accepted.

Business Resource Center Coordinator - Simsbury Public Library

Business Resource Center Coordinator - Simsbury Public Library is looking for a dynamic librarian with a passion for business and entrepr...

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 11/26/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/11/the-decline-of-fascination-and-the-rise-in-ennui.html">The decline of fascination and the rise in ennui</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Seth Godin writes, "Today, an internet video or an investment philosophy or a political moment might last for weeks or even a few days. It's not unusual for a movie or a book or even a TV series to come and go before most people notice it. Neophilia has fundamentally changed the culture." This "neophilia" or craving for new things is a ping pong game that never ends. The fact in education is that there are strategies that have worked for a long time that we can use in the classroom. Not everything has to be new -- all the time -- my classroom has been doing the Flat Classroom project every year once a year for the last 5 years since Julie Lindsay and I first invented it. Sure, we've added new things and elements like a Diigo bookmarking group -- we're always trying to improve it -- but you don't have to always have all new things all the time. Neither can we have a static classroom of "filing cabinet" lesson plans. I once heard a veteran teacher say "may it never be said that I taught the same year 30 times, but instead that I taught for 30 years - always reinventing and improving." We must reinvent and improve. I find myself tired and exhausted of the addiction to new -- and now there is a name I can use for this -- "neophilia." The question about anything new is "does it improve upon what we already know to be true" and also, in the case of services and apps - I ALWAYS ask myself now, "does it have a sustainable business model" -- if not -- it won't be here in 5 years. This is part of why we had to start charging for Flat Classroom because we HAD to start hiring some people to run projects and set up structures so that it can continue -- to expect everyone to devote hours a week to keep something running for free isn't sustainable because people have to pay their bills. It is time that Web 2 grew up to be "Web Do" -- what does it do? Will it continue to do and improve? Instead, some people are just stuck in "Web New." While new and novel can keep us interested, it should never be everything. "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver, the other's gold." -- I use this in my keynote "12 Habits of the Top 21st century teacher" -- talking about new technologies -- keep what works and improve what doesn't. Let's move from Web 2 to "Web Do" and avoid getting so addicted to "Web New" that we throw out what works. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edreform">edreform</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://1to1inpractice.blogspot.com/2012/11/write-now-1000-kids-writing-for-kids.html">Write Now 1000 - Kids Writing for Kids</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Can one school publish 1000 books? Students can be publishers. Of course, I would ask and question if these books are being done well, but does it have to be done well? In the end, I guess ratings, etc. will help some rise to the top -- sort of like YouTube but I wonder if the ratings system in place in iBooks or Amazon will allow such things to really happen as not everyone really writes reviews. I think writing reviews of book should be as simple as it is to write a review of an app -- but one thing is for sure, the person should be confirmed to own a book before writing a review -- that can be done with ebooks. Interesting idea and one for composition and writing teachers to consider (and this can be in tandem with art courses as a cross curricular.)</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ebook">ebook</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/writing">writing</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 11/26/2012

The decline of fascination and the rise in ennui Seth Godin writes, "Today, an internet video o...

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Greed is Good...Greed Works

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55_5_c2f3E8ARHBMMORF2rUhEJz9AlYJX_aoNLZdQX5XnsrQ8Xkze0h6d4ZlGNcwXORRc4XdGkMBtEmV5qasdmNABvXKbI6I-9IkEqBediUrXppas8DSESWCVmKYO-y0wVmbzM1qjpog/s1600/unemployment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55_5_c2f3E8ARHBMMORF2rUhEJz9AlYJX_aoNLZdQX5XnsrQ8Xkze0h6d4ZlGNcwXORRc4XdGkMBtEmV5qasdmNABvXKbI6I-9IkEqBediUrXppas8DSESWCVmKYO-y0wVmbzM1qjpog/s400/unemployment.jpg" width="400" /></a>Welcome back to I’m With Stupid coming to you liiiiive from the palatial digs in Bagwine, Ohi---<br /><br />Oh sorry, we haven’t done a radio show since the 18th and I guess I was jumping the gun, but that’s okay, because we will be doing a show today at 11 AM ET, so I am all better now.<br /><br />Okay…no…even though we will be doing a show today, I am still not alright.<br /><br />I am nervous.<br /><br />My BFF/OSP Schmoop has some health problems and if her unemployment is not approved, we will be hurting more than Evander Holyfield getting his ear bitten off by Mike Tyson.<br /><br />Here’s the thing…Her employer, actually her boss and owner of the company, said that she was being laid-off and told her to file for unemployment, so…she did.<br /><br />And what happened?<br /><br />Because of what he told the ODJFS, which contradicted what he had told Schmoop and what Schmoop told ODJFS based on their conversation, her claim is in limbo and under microscopic review.<br /><br />The entire process seemed easy enough at the beginning, but knowing her boss as I do, I knew there would be a bend in the tracks.  I knew that somehow, he would twist and bend the rails of her financial security as he happily chugged along as the conductor of his self-serving crazy train.<br /><br />I have no use whatsoever for this guy.  I worked for him for nearly four years, and well, he’s an idiot.  He’s not completely unlikable, but well, he’s an idiot because he has a trait that a few small business owners that I know have.<br /><br />What is that you ask?<br /><br />They go into business for themselves, and then complain about the Federal and State regulations that they are under, knowing what those regulations were, prior to going into business!!<br /><br />Uuch!!<br /><br />Here’s the thing though…He doesn’t want to pay Schmoop unemployment, even though it is already paid for, but he wants to continue in his business that she helped him to build over the last twelve years.<br /><br />To me, that is kinda greedy.<br /><br />I know that job creators are all good, and want nothing to do but make a barely minimal living, so all the while they can help those who create their products to make a decent living as well, but it would be nice if this job creator would live up to his word.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniM1BD5nQGYsF8m8PszBjWMfDuwzN6Sy09HnHTJRVbhHX_xEcbXq8_qNkRrpRXZ-CBmPLa5utRRWXGdFCHybMe88JdQlJEpkr7KXeDQ511X-3E-HOLs97yESHz_Vd6ic-iN8Gj7-cAP4/s1600/gordon+gekko.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniM1BD5nQGYsF8m8PszBjWMfDuwzN6Sy09HnHTJRVbhHX_xEcbXq8_qNkRrpRXZ-CBmPLa5utRRWXGdFCHybMe88JdQlJEpkr7KXeDQ511X-3E-HOLs97yESHz_Vd6ic-iN8Gj7-cAP4/s400/gordon+gekko.jpg" width="300" /></a>Here’s the thing, and I know that this post at this point becomes disjointed, but I have a couple of things going through my mind right now.<br /><br />I am trying to help Schmoop get her unemployment to which she is deserving, and this past Friday, throngs of pajama pants wearing Americans, with no bras, and unattended toddlers left in their cars, were running through mega-stores demanding their Black Friday sale prices.<br /><br />The demands issued by Schmoop and the Black Friday shoppers are both based upon a promise made by the owner of a particular company, but there is a distinct difference.<br /><br />If Wal*Mart, Kohl’s, or others like Best Buy don’t live up to their promise, families go without a big screen TV, and they immediately raise hell.<br /><br />When Schmoop’s boss goes back on a promise, we don’t eat, and we move out of our home of twelve years, and try to find an acceptable option while crying.<br /><br />Greed, be it on the side of the those who produce or consume, is an ugly, yet powerful force.<br /><br />I just want to continue to live in a small apartment with Schmoop.  I guess to some, that is the definition of greed, and cannot be tolerated.<br /><br /><i>Cheers!!</i><br /><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com">mattmaniws@ymail.com</a></span></i><br /><i><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank">@mattman_iws</a></span></i><br /><i><br /></i><i>P.S.  Oh and by the way, we are doing an IWS Radio Show today at 11 AM ET so check us out...It's going to be hilarious: <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2012/11/26/cyber-monday-extravaganza" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Cyber Monday Extravaganza</span></a> </i><br /><i><br /></i> </div>

Greed is Good...Greed Works

Welcome back to I’m With Stupid coming to you liiiiive from the palatial digs in Bagwine, Ohi--- Oh sorry, we haven’t done a radio show sinc...

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Pre-dinner canapes

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a few pics of some nibblies I prepared for my guests the other night.  They were so tasty!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ASoIhF5R_34PLqnTr6O6t6rp-1ERUFX8J9GiRNwUkDAlpCpvcAv90Hv0jIJ_74I56PAzUn0baihioziI7AaMTSgkZtSmzrinvNUiqdKcZD52wRKMPu0My8SxbG1Etyrt3Bg3ser-jgJP/s1600/IMG_2634%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ASoIhF5R_34PLqnTr6O6t6rp-1ERUFX8J9GiRNwUkDAlpCpvcAv90Hv0jIJ_74I56PAzUn0baihioziI7AaMTSgkZtSmzrinvNUiqdKcZD52wRKMPu0My8SxbG1Etyrt3Bg3ser-jgJP/s320/IMG_2634%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">I served a selection of cheese on my <a href="http://islandbottlefactory.com/category/flat-bottles">Grey Goose platter</a>.  A blue, a creamy Lancashire along with some brie. I also got to use my star fish encrusted cheese spreader that I picked up in Key West (in the now gone Fast Buck Freddies) on my last visit.  </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPiQRfUVXKXld0VXJeM-OGEcOdr3DbrzyfgpSGYNsCWZ6tp7jOE09gjcEmccl9XB9Oh1yOTqmo2taUbgkEySkr-Lx24xYDSEKKEHGsMWLLh388CWsLx88pcBaoFUYvnyCAsXfOPNN48QJ/s1600/IMG_2635%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPiQRfUVXKXld0VXJeM-OGEcOdr3DbrzyfgpSGYNsCWZ6tp7jOE09gjcEmccl9XB9Oh1yOTqmo2taUbgkEySkr-Lx24xYDSEKKEHGsMWLLh388CWsLx88pcBaoFUYvnyCAsXfOPNN48QJ/s320/IMG_2635%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Even though I had already organised dessert, Ciaran  stopped off in The Butler's Pantry in Rathgar for an apple tart.  It's his favourite and it went down really well with all the guys! ;-)</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0M_qspWnE5Wg1lRw1qKRKl1sp1N3SyYoqKariV9IUtDYST5dykHoZBRcDsMc-WzQ59w1eXNN13NIAfemVl_pMeKZzBhBDJgfXIiewb2aic75NIXnn7MbusfiiNgmDR5uv3i0o8gNSnrvj/s1600/IMG_2636%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0M_qspWnE5Wg1lRw1qKRKl1sp1N3SyYoqKariV9IUtDYST5dykHoZBRcDsMc-WzQ59w1eXNN13NIAfemVl_pMeKZzBhBDJgfXIiewb2aic75NIXnn7MbusfiiNgmDR5uv3i0o8gNSnrvj/s320/IMG_2636%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />

Pre-dinner canapes

Here's a few pics of some nibblies I prepared for my guests the other night.  They were so tasty! I served a selection of cheese on my G...

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Monday, Monday

<span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.archidose.org/wp/">A Weekly Dose of Architecture</a> Updates:</span><br /><br />This week's dose features <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2012/11/26/ecomusee-du-pays-de-rennes/">Écomusée du Pays de Rennes</a> in Rennes, France, by Guinée*Potin:<br /><a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2012/11/26/ecomusee-du-pays-de-rennes/"><img alt="this week's dose" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Nov12-26.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="This week's dose" width="640" /></a><br /><br />The featured past dose is the <a href="http://www.archidose.org/Apr10/19/dose.html">Apprentice Formation Center</a> in Saint Maur des Fossés, France by AIR:<br /><a href="http://www.archidose.org/Apr10/19/dose.html"><img alt="this week's dose" src="http://www.archidose.org/Apr10/19/image01.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="featured past dose" width="640" /></a><br /><br />This week's book review is <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2012/11/26/architecture-from-commission-to-construction/"><i>Architecture: From Commission to Construction</i></a> by Jennifer Hudson:<br /><a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2012/11/26/architecture-from-commission-to-construction/"><img alt="this week's book review" height="300" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/commission.jpg" title="This week's book review" /></a>   <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2011/04/25/greening-modernism-and-towards-zero-energy-architecture/"><img alt="this week's book review" height="300" src="http://www.laurenceking.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/500x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/o/cover_1_1.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="This week's book review" /></a><br />(R): The featured past book review is <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2011/04/25/greening-modernism-and-towards-zero-energy-architecture/"><i> Towards Zero-Energy Architecture</i></a> by Mary Guzowski (now in paperback).<br /><br />: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :<br /><br /><b>**NOTE: The next weekly dose will be 2012.12.10.**</b><br /><br />: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">World-Architects.com U.S. <a href="http://www.american-architects.com/projects/reviews/41">Building of the Week</a>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.world-architects.com/en/projects/project-review-detail/38880_uptown">Uptown</a> in Cleveland, Ohio, by Stanley Saitowitz / Natoma Architects:<br /><a href="http://www.world-architects.com/en/projects/project-review-detail/38880_uptown"><img alt="this week's Building of the Week" src="http://www.world-architects.com/files/projects/38880/images/01.jpg" title="Current Building of the Week on american-architects.com" width="640" /></a>

Monday, Monday

A Weekly Dose of Architecture Updates: This week's dose features Écomusée du Pays de Rennes in Rennes, France, by Guinée*Potin: The fe...

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Babe of the Week: Heidi Klum

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />IWS is proud to announce that UBER Supermodel, hottie and all around awesome chick Heidi Klume is our Babe of the Week!<br /><br />Just like fine wine, Heidi gets better and better with age…<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfPsD7KAVlCAFYRkMRtlr3Wj7BnyioeaRxhfO48IWwiZQK7rUBc-SaZq6dwRr9O44TOoD1db1nIOLCSqnes3JyzWPGRkpkGBaOIAb_ONHFfIQpqE0qCCTVY8GgYjh9uAR6S_m3HgPUsQ/s1600/Heidi+Klum+Hot+See+Through.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfPsD7KAVlCAFYRkMRtlr3Wj7BnyioeaRxhfO48IWwiZQK7rUBc-SaZq6dwRr9O44TOoD1db1nIOLCSqnes3JyzWPGRkpkGBaOIAb_ONHFfIQpqE0qCCTVY8GgYjh9uAR6S_m3HgPUsQ/s400/Heidi+Klum+Hot+See+Through.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br />She can wear the most daring outfits and make them classics …<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2CqNALwEU9MWYI4czIx6Lst35byFaswihI6M0WMiMFlligbm9I_vFSp3Rgx1avqQ6R05crM9COiCoRh4lmkdZwkyqojWbWQoRIJwI1FhuXFA15Yh-wKH8rtKuGvoYYfXGwuZmgh7_5Y/s1600/Heidi+Klum+Legs+Hot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2CqNALwEU9MWYI4czIx6Lst35byFaswihI6M0WMiMFlligbm9I_vFSp3Rgx1avqQ6R05crM9COiCoRh4lmkdZwkyqojWbWQoRIJwI1FhuXFA15Yh-wKH8rtKuGvoYYfXGwuZmgh7_5Y/s400/Heidi+Klum+Legs+Hot.JPG" width="221" /></a></div><br />And then wear something even MORE daring …<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceereuUnlEAPIdzlOGhzrwCqKLsp7yCaftEOeZskFZlZV32HnwoI0DqaKSm4ezFxtaJtz1oJR3-7xetJdMYNoxdCWlibxeoytfWuKQYK2aEt8UGE0WunqDQ1PU5EIXr0-Kd3VOfdVsNU/s1600/Heidi+Klum+Cleavage+Legs+Sexy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceereuUnlEAPIdzlOGhzrwCqKLsp7yCaftEOeZskFZlZV32HnwoI0DqaKSm4ezFxtaJtz1oJR3-7xetJdMYNoxdCWlibxeoytfWuKQYK2aEt8UGE0WunqDQ1PU5EIXr0-Kd3VOfdVsNU/s400/Heidi+Klum+Cleavage+Legs+Sexy.JPG" width="273" /></a></div><br />And then remind everyone that she’s one of the great bikini models of all time …<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM2Nz6MkQPhbx7LQZ4cEgE5IZG2b3h4o3ZcGmouTLhcJ8_GfWbHGhMzjqMspIZNRXaz9XUPMQQA_pPqRg22uSpcdKPeVtVYmTWUM0vkDCcumVk9MImk4RoIzK_Z95wH68YEU2p-reZro/s1600/Heidi+Klum+Nude+Bikini+HOt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM2Nz6MkQPhbx7LQZ4cEgE5IZG2b3h4o3ZcGmouTLhcJ8_GfWbHGhMzjqMspIZNRXaz9XUPMQQA_pPqRg22uSpcdKPeVtVYmTWUM0vkDCcumVk9MImk4RoIzK_Z95wH68YEU2p-reZro/s1600/Heidi+Klum+Nude+Bikini+HOt.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div>

Babe of the Week: Heidi Klum

IWS is proud to announce that UBER Supermodel, hottie and all around awesome chick Heidi Klume is our Babe of the Week! Just like fine wine,...

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Testing testing - Why the costs and benefits of some cancer screenings stir such controversy - 2012 FALL - Stanford Medicine Magazine - Stanford University School of Medicine

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="introParagraph" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); text-align: left; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 19px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">OTIS BRAWLEY, MD, IS ADMITTEDLY A SKEPTIC OF THE MEDICAL SYSTEM.</span> An African-American, he was raised among people who had a deep distrust of doctors and hospitals, believing they could cause as much harm as good. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">And that is how Brawley has come to view screening for prostate cancer with the long-established blood test. He believes it causes as much — if not more — harm as good. It's an issue on which he has become a crusader.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Brawley, the medical director of the American Cancer Society, opposes routine, widespread screening using the prostate-specific antigen test, or PSA, as a way to detect prostate cancer in healthy men. He argues that men have been misled into believing that prostate cancer screening saves lives, when science has never definitively shown that to be the case. Rather, he believes large-scale PSA screening has resulted in great suffering from needless and potentially damaging treatments, with uncertain benefits.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Brawley is among the many health-care leaders calling attention to the problem of overscreening — not just for prostate cancer, but for conditions from breast cancer to heart disease — which adds billions of dollars to health-care costs annually. Screenings and the medical procedures that may result, such as biopsies following a high PSA reading, feed the U.S. medical spending juggernaut. The Institute of Medicine reported in September that $750 billion is wasted by the U.S. health-care system each year. Unneeded care amounts to $210 billion of that total.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Nonetheless, the PSA screening controversy, which has persisted for more than a decade, shows how dilemmas in medical practice can impede change.</div><h3 style="margin: 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 19px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">OVERDOSING ON SCREENING?</h3><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Millions of men in the United States now take the PSA test, which measures the level of a protein produced by the prostate gland that can be an indicator of prostate cancer — the second-leading cause of cancer death for U.S. men. This year, it will take the lives of 28,000, estimates the American Cancer Society. A man's lifetime risk of dying of prostate cancer is 2.8 percent among Caucasians and 3.5 percent among African-Americans. The cancer society had recommended in 1993 that men receive a PSA blood test annually starting at age 50 — age 40 for African-Americans and others at higher risk — though it backed off in 1997, saying men should talk with their doctors first about the benefits and drawbacks of the test and make an informed decision before being screened.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">A big limitation of the PSA test is that it is imprecise, unable to effectively distinguish between slow-growing, harmless cancers, which are most common, and more aggressive, deadly ones. And high levels sometimes don't indicate cancer at all, but instead more benign conditions such as an enlarged or inflamed prostate.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">A high PSA result often leads men down a path to surgery, radiation or hormone therapy which may — or may not — be of benefit and which can have lifelong complications, including impotence, incontinence and problems of bowel control. Unfortunately, no better method for detecting potential prostate cancer exists. It has become entrenched in the medical care system, with many vested interests involved, including doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical firms.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Prostate cancer is a poster child for the problem of overdiagnosis," says H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH, with the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and author of <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health</em>.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"We have done it for 20 years because some people thought it might save lives," says Brawley, professor of oncology and epidemiology at Emory University. "But we told people — we in medicine — that it saves lives and you should get it. My own American Cancer Society recommended every man over 50 get prostate cancer screening — every black man over 40 — back in 1993 without adequate scientific data. Everybody is so brainwashed into thinking that prostate screening is the right thing to do," adds Brawley, who has been both praised and vilified for his views on the highly divisive issue. (To be clear, however, he and other critics of the test endorse its use to track the growth of cancer once it has been identified.)</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In a May article in the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">British Medical Journal</em>, health journalist Ray Moynihan, a senior research fellow at Bond University in Australia, and two co-authors identified prostate cancer as one of a dozen commonly overdiagnosed conditions. The others included breast cancer, asthma, osteoporosis and attention deficit disorder, according to the researchers, who said medicine's ability to heal the sick is becoming overshadowed by its capacity to harm the healthy.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Screening programmes are detecting early cancers that will never cause symptoms or death, sensitive diagnostic technologies identify 'abnormalities' so tiny that they will remain benign, while widening disease definitions mean people at ever lower risks receive medical labels and lifelong treatments that will fail to benefit many of them," the researchers write.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Next fall, the Dartmouth institute is hosting an international conference on the wider problem of overdiagnosis, partnering with Bond University, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">BMJ</em> and <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Consumer Reports</em>.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The costs to the system are enormous. In one study, published this April in the<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Journal of the American Medical Association</em>, Donald Berwick, MD, former chief of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and colleague Andrew Hackbarth of the Rand Corp. estimated that between $158 billion and $226 billion was wasted in 2011 in the United States on care that can't help patients, including some end-of-life care and surgical treatment when simple monitoring of a condition would have sufficed.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Americans have embraced the concept of medical screening in the belief that more knowledge is better, says internist Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center who studies the adoption of disease prevention practices. But sometimes that knowledge sends patients down a path to more testing and more treatments, which are not only costly, but harmful.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"While some screening tests have limited utility, patients often expect that a full evaluation will include them, including an EKG, urinalysis or blood count," says Stafford. "We now recognize that there is tremendous overuse of those diagnostic tests."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The problem is that the tests not only cost money, but also can lead to more unneeded health-care activities. "An EKG that is suspicious for coronary artery disease leads to a stress test, which leads to a catheterization, which in turn leads to a bypass surgery, all of which might not have been necessary," says Stafford. "These tests are not specific. That is, a suspicious test result may not always represent actual disease."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Cancer screening is particularly controversial. In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force set off a firestorm when it recommended women start getting routine mammograms at age 50, rather than 40, and switch from annual checks to every other year. The organization, which reviews the scientific justification for clinical preventive services, found evidence lacking for earlier and more frequent screenings.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">When the decision came out during the national debate over President Obama's health-care reform legislation, opponents decried it as health-care rationing. Many physicians' groups also denounced it, as did some breast cancer research and treatment advocacy groups. Congress went on to undermine the recommendation by writing a requirement into the health-care reform law for insurers to cover mammograms for women ages 40 to 49 despite the task force's conclusion.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Then this spring, the task force added further fuel to the debate when it gave the PSA test a "D" rating and recommended against it for the general population. In its report, the panel noted that a large percentage of men who are screened opt for treatment, with various ill effects.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Among 1,000 men screened, as many as five will die within a month of prostate cancer surgery and between 10 and 70 will have serious complications, the panel reported. At least 20 to 30 percent of men undergoing radiation therapy or surgery will have long-term side effects, including urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and bowel dysfunction, while hormone therapy may lead to erectile dysfunction, breast enlargement and hot flashes, according to the report, published in May 2012 in the<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Annals of Internal Medicine</em>.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Based on this work, the task force concludes that many men are harmed as a result of prostate cancer screening and few, if any, benefit," concludes the task force on its website.</div><blockquote style="margin: 0px; padding: 40px 15px 30px 35px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; quotes: '', ''; width: 160px; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 2em; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; float: right; display: inline; letter-spacing: 1px; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "> AMERICANS HAVE EMBRACED THE CONCEPT OF MEDICAL SCREENING IN THE BELIEF THAT MORE KNOWLEDGE IS BETTER.</blockquote><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The recommendation provoked outrage in the urology community, with the American Academy of Urology calling it "inappropriate and irresponsible." The group notes prostate cancer mortality has significantly declined in the United States, which it believes is largely due to the advent of widespread PSA screening. In June, the American Medical Association voted to officially express concern over the task force's recommendations on both mammography and PSA testing.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"In the United States, death rates from prostate cancer have decreased by 40 percent, and the percentage of men who present with metastases has decreased by 80 percent," says Northwestern University urologist William Catalona, MD, a screening advocate whose early studies helped validate use of the test. "So we are detecting prostate cancer earlier and detecting it in a curable stage more often. Screening has fallen victim of its own success. Now we have people saying we are detecting it too early and treating it too often."</div><h3 style="margin: 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 19px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">THE TEST'S HISTORY OF CONTROVERSY</h3><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Overdiagnosis' "poster child," the PSA, first came into vogue following a 1987 report in the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">New England Journal of Medicine</em> by Stanford's Thomas Stamey, MD, now an emeritus professor of urology, which suggested it could be useful as a marker in the blood for the disease. Men rushed in, eager to know their status, leading to an immediate spike in prostate cancer diagnoses. These men would go on to have their prostates biopsied, with doctors sampling tissue though a needle from a dozen spots in the gland, which is about the size of a golf ball. Biopsies are not only uncomfortable, but can cause bleeding, infection and, in 1 percent of cases, hospitalization.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In those days, if any one bit of biopsied tissue came back positive, the patient would usually go on to have the entire organ removed, and possibly radiation therapy. Because the prostate is located deep in the pelvis, surrounded by other organs and hard to access, it is difficult for surgeons to avoid damaging the nerves that control vital functions, such as ejaculation and urination.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">By 2004, Stamey himself began to question the test, saying it was turning up far too many cases of small, low-grade tumors that were unlikely to spread and cause any harm, yet were subjecting men to unwarranted treatment. His paper that year in the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Journal of Urology</em> highlighted a major flaw in the test — its inability to distinguish between slow-growing tumors that may never be troublesome and the more aggressive, potentially deadly ones. His conclusion, that the test was of limited value, caused a furor among urologists.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Two major studies have been completed since then, yet neither has been sufficient to settle the controversy.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">A large U.S. study, known as the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, enrolled men at 10 centers around the country over six years. The results, published in January 2012 in the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Journal of the National Cancer Institute</em>, showed no difference in mortality among men in the screening group versus controls. Unfortunately, many men in the control group could not restrain themselves from being tested, so the results were considered contaminated.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">A separate study, published in 2009 in the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">New England Journal of Medicine</em> and involving 162,000 men in seven European countries, showed a 20 percent relative reduction in mortality among men receiving the test, though the authors noted that screening is associated with as much as a 50 percent risk of overdiagnosis. The study is often cited by patient advocates and others favoring PSA screening as clear evidence of the value of the test. In August, Dutch researchers published a follow-up to the European study, saying whether or not to screen depends on how an individual patient feels about the possible harms and benefits. </div><h3 style="margin: 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 19px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">UNCOUPLE SCREENING AND TREATMENT</h3><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">James Brooks, MD, a professor of urology at Stanford and prostate cancer expert, says a moratorium on testing, as recommended by the task force, is akin to "throwing the baby out with the bathwater." He still believes the PSA is useful, recommending annual tests for men ages 50 to 75.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Elevated PSA is a marker of risk, much as high blood pressure is a marker of risk for death from heart disease," says Brooks, chief of urologic oncology at Stanford Hospital & Clinics.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">He says the task force ignored the fact that death rates and the incidence of metastatic disease have significantly declined, with studies suggesting the decline is related to screening and treatment of localized disease and less so to improved treatments of advanced disease, as some critics argue.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">He also believes the task force erred in directly linking screening to treatment. If, for instance, a man has a high PSA, he can go on to have a biopsy, and that may show that he has low-grade disease, in which case the cancer would just be monitored, not treated.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"We have learned that low-grade cancers can be watched safely. Because of that I uncouple screening and treatment.  Men with low-risk cancer are watched, and men with aggressive cancer are treated," he says. "There are two randomized trials that show that operating on men with intermediate and high-risk cancers, rather than doing nothing, improves their life expectancy and decreases their chance of developing metastatic prostate cancer. Those are the patients to whom we offer treatment."</div><blockquote style="margin: 0px; padding: 40px 15px 30px 35px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; quotes: '', ''; width: 160px; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 2em; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; float: right; display: inline; letter-spacing: 1px; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "> 'PEOPLE ARE SCARED BECAUSE THEY HEAR THE WORD, "CANCER." DOCTORS ARE SCARED BECAUSE THEY HEAR THE WORD "CANCER." TOGETHER THIS PROMPTS TREATMENT.'</blockquote><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">At the core of the problem with PSA screening is the fear inflamed by a diagnosis of cancer. "People are scared because they hear the word 'cancer.' Doctors are scared because they hear the word 'cancer.' Together this prompts treatment. It does not help that there are monetary incentives that drive those decisions," says Brooks.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Brawley, who recently authored the book <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks about Being Sick in America</em>, says he is particularly concerned about free mass screenings at county fairs, shopping malls, churches and other public venues that are sponsored by special interests seeking to attract new patients but that don't provide men the opportunity to make informed decisions. (One past sponsor has been Kimberly Clark, the maker of Depend diapers for adults, he notes.)</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"There's a lot of publicity out there — some of it by people who want to make money by recruiting patients — that oversimplifies the issue by saying that prostate cancer screening clearly saves lives. The truth is if you are concerned about prostate cancer, understand there are proven risks and possible benefits.... Every man needs to decide for himself," says Brawley.</div><h3 style="margin: 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 19px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY</h3><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Often the first reaction among men is to have the cancer removed until they learn about the serious side effects surgery can cause, Brooks says. Once he describes them, he says, many become open to the idea of active surveillance, in which they are monitored with periodic PSA tests, biopsies and physical exams.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"In 1997, virtually all of our patients who were diagnosed, even if the tumor was small and low-grade, got an operation," he says. "Now, one-third of those patients are in active surveillance."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Bill, a 70-year-old Oakland, Calif., resident, is one such patient. Since 2002, he had been getting annual PSA tests, and while the numbers bounced around, they showed a gradual upward trend. So in 2008, at the suggestion of a Berkeley, Calif., urologist, he had a prostate biopsy, which detected something suspicious. The urologist then launched into a discussion of his various treatment options. "My mind said that if I had some kind of cancer, I want to take care of this. This was based on ignorance," says Bill, who asked that his last name not be used to protect his privacy.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">He went home and talked to his wife and then began asking more questions of his urologist. "We started talking about side effects — impotence and incontinence, that sort of thing. I kind of felt I was getting different stories at different times."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">He decided to get a second opinion and came to Stanford, where he learned that he actually had very little, very low-grade cancer and was a good candidate for active surveillance. Brooks has continued to measure his PSA levels quarterly and do a biopsy every 18 months. Bill's PSA has been trending down.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"On the whole, I'm glad I'm getting the PSAs, and I'm glad I didn't rush into treatment because there are lots of side effects from the treatment," he says. "The cancer is small and doesn't cause me any problems. Treatment would probably cause more problems than having the cancer. So I'm really feeling good about the decision."</div><h3 style="margin: 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(228, 106, 55); letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 19px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">THE NEW ATTITUDE</h3><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">While the PSA test remains widely used, medical associations, including the American College of Physicians and the American College of Preventive Medicine, have begun to advise caution, saying men need to have a detailed conversation with their doctors before proceeding with the test and possible follow-up treatment. Even the conservative American Academy of Urology, in its 2009 Best Practice statement, recommends that men be informed of the risks of screening and of the option of active surveillance for newly diagnosed patients; the organization is currently revising its guidelines to reflect the state of the science.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Which begs the question, what is the state of the science? One unfortunate aspect of the debate over the PSA test is that valuable time has been lost, when scientists could have been looking for other alternatives, Brawley says.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"The urologic industry has been so fixated that they've delayed finding something better than PSA. So what's a man to do since we've been so foolish," he asks.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In fact, efforts are now under way to find a better option, with researchers using genomics, new imaging techniques and other strategies to develop more reliable indicators of the disease. Brooks is involved in several of these studies, including one in which 700 men are under active surveillance, undergoing periodic testing in an effort to develop a marker that can distinguish aggressive tumors from non-aggressive ones.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In another study, he is collaborating with Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD, professor and chair of radiology at Stanford, in using nanotechnology to measure proteins in the blood that may be better indicators of the disease than PSA. And at least two Bay Area companies have alternatives in clinical studies that aim to single out those cancers most likely to progress and require treatment.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"There are certainly plenty of men who are getting treated who don't need to be," says Brooks. "So we have to move the ball down the field. We just need better tests."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; text-indent: 20px; color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><br></div></div><a href="http://stanmed.stanford.edu/2012fall/article6.html">http://stanmed.stanford.edu/2012fall/article6.html</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Testing testing - Why the costs and benefits of some cancer screenings stir such controversy - 2012 FALL - Stanford Medicine Magazine - Stanford University School of Medicine

OTIS BRAWLEY, MD, IS ADMITTEDLY A SKEPTIC OF THE MEDICAL SYSTEM.  An African-American, he was raised among people who had a deep distrust of...

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