Segment 11: Two Paradigms Being Presented in Medical Oncology

Daniel F. Hayes, MD, outlines the 2 paradigms presented in medical oncology: one where people would rather be overtreated rather than miss a chance to benefit by being undertreated and another where a person might not be willing to do something until they learn there is a reason to do so.

He used the example of prophylactic mastectomy. Performing one on every 20-year-old woman would decrease breast cancer mortality by 95% over the next decade, but it’s not an acceptable course of action unless someone has a high chance of developing cancer or dying from it.

“We need to be really, really careful about these tests because unacceptable approaches become acceptable if you provide data,” he said.