51˶

'A Very Dangerous Interpretation': What We Heard This Week

— Quotable quotes from 51˶'s sources

MedpageToday

"People should not interpret these two abstracts as suggesting that if you live a healthy lifestyle and you eat tree nuts, you don't need to take the chemotherapy that your oncologist would recommend. That's a very dangerous interpretation." American Society of Clinical Oncology President Daniel Hayes, MD, commenting on two studies showing that lifestyle factors may help extend the lives of colon cancer survivors after treatment with surgery and chemotherapy.

"Women are not going to turn into these crazed sex fiends lurking around the corner for sexual activity. They may have more sexual thoughts. They may feel more sexy. They may be more responsive to their partners." – Michael L. Krychman, MD, of the Southern California Center for Sexual Health and Survivorship Medicine in Newport Beach, Calif on a new analysis of data on flibanserin (Addyi).

"I see this drug [flibanserin], in many ways, as a ground-breaking development." – Tomas Griebling, MD, of the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, on the same study.

"Healthcare costs are out of control, and the only way to reduce them is a public option, yet we seem to be getting further and further away from that. What can we do to reverse the tide?" – Sanjay Sarma, a healthcare consultant and small business owner from Arlington, Va., asked of Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) at a town hall meeting in Alexandria. Va.

"When most people think about self-sourced or self-induced abortion, they tend to think about coat hangers or cold steel tables in back alleys. But in 2017, self-sourced abortion involves a network of people helping and supporting each other through a safe and effective process, in the comfort and dignity of their own homes." – Abigail R.A. Aiken, MD, MPH, PhD, of the University of Texas at Austin, on study results regarding online telemedicine for medical abortion.

"Weight loss to treat obesity in the elderly remains controversial, because obesity causes frailty in the elderly, and weight loss could further the loss of muscle mass and bone mass and might worsen frailty." -- Dennis T. Villareal, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, on his study of aerobic and resistance exercise for older obese adults.

"That's why there is a current recommendation for universal vaccination of young girls and boys." Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, commenting on the lack of information to identify individuals in whom human papillomavirus infection will resolve naturally.