H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., M.P.H.

Berkeley, CA: U. of Calif. Press, 2004
190 pp. plus glossary, notes and index
ISBN 0-520-23976-8

This book is designed to be read by healthy people and I can't recommend it highly enough. Written in clear, understandable language, it reviews the range of common medical tests for cancer and what they can and can't tell you (and your doctor). Dr. Welch's reservations about cancer testing are partly due to the wide variations in the natural history of a cancer (making test results often unreliable) and partly due to the dilemma of what to do, once you have a positive (or more often an indeterminate) result.

For breast cancer survivors, the book includes a pertinent review of the overtreatment of DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) and an excellent summary of the debate about the utility of mammography (pp. 153-164).

The book is in the BCAM library and available for borrowing by BCAM members.