Diane Radford, M.D.

Health & Wellness Posts

April 25, 2013
Radiation for Breast Cancer: Protecting the Heart

The paper by Darby and others published March 14th 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine has caused a firestorm of media coverage. The authors report on over 900 women who had been treated for breast cancer in Scandinavia who suffered a major coronary event and compared them with over twelve hundred control individuals. The Swedish women were treated between 1958 and 2001, the Danish women 1977 to 2000. The authors concluded that the risk…

October 13, 2012
Less Axillary Surgery for Breast Cancer: Minimizing Harm

Cancer survival rates are increasing in the US. The American Cancer Society reported recently that by 2022 the number of survivors will soar to almost 18 million, up from 13 million in 2010. In my field, breast cancer, death rates have been decreasing since 1990. A 25% increase in the number of breast cancer survivors between 2010 and 2020 is predicted. These figures mean that those who have been diagnosed with and treated for cancer are living…

June 12, 2012
Tips to Help Reduce Cancer Risk

Guest Post by Heather Smith Author Bio Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to hire a nanny by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can…

May 24, 2012
The Healing Touch and the Teacher

I remember it as if it were yesterday, the spacious auditorium in the then-new Boyd Orr building at the University of Glasgow. The oncologist, young to be the Chair of the department (but so wise), lectured to us about the importance of touch in patient-doctor communication. Not salacious touch of course, but touch for support, empathy, and reassurance. It may be holding a trembling hand, or a gentle squeeze to the elbow. It may be a hand…

January 20, 2012
digital-mammogram

“I am in a reflective mood as I lie here in the sunshine at the end of my life.” So began the article by Dr M. Maureen Roberts, published posthumously, in the British Medical Journal on 4th Nov 1989, in which she considered the efficacy of the mammography screening program in the UK (1). She continued “Breast cancer has caught up with me, after eight good years.” Maureen Roberts was the clinical director of the Edinburgh Breast…

November 2, 2011
Rainbows

Everybody loves rainbows— they fascinate us, we stop to admire them, and we soak in their color and magnificence. Songs are written about them. Judy Garland reminded us: Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high, There’s a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby. And way up high is the only place to encounter the phenomenon of the circular rainbow. Mountaineers, pilots and airplane passengers may be lucky enough to see one, the complete…

Diane Radford

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