Ten years ago, the federally sponsored Institute of Medicine published a report summing up the pluses and minuses of breast cancer screening. It begins,
“The public has a seemingly insatiable appetite for news about breast cancer, [a] disease that women most fear. The mass media, both news and advertising, is the main source of health information for many Americans. Unfortunately, there is considerable evidence that the media portrays breast cancer unrealistically, and that women’s…