John Barron

I think he's great.  He's extremely thorough in his analysis of questions, his writing is neither too simplistic nor too technical, and I like his easy-going style, too.  Why are you asking?    Deanna

PS ~ Although he is a researcher, I'm not sure he's a doctor.  He doesn't use MD or PhD on any of his pubs.

himalaya, I don't recall reading anything like that from Jon Barron, but let me offer some thoughts on those types of opinions re. conventional medicine and bc.  

To begin, there probably are many misdiagnoses, but sadly, I think most of those tend to be the other way -- missing early dx.   And there is a lot of overtreatment, as in the case of DCIS, for example, the non-invasive form of breast cancer.  However, because it's impossible as yet to accurately predict whose DCIS will become invasive and whose won't, most doctors choose to err on the side of caution and treat DCIS.

I also believe there is a lot of truth that Big Pharma is more interested in the bottom line than individual lives, as evidenced by manipulating research results and rushing drugs to market that are sometimes later recalled or relabeled with much more serious warnings.   However, unlike many other types of cancer, the conventional treatment for early stage breast cancer is highly effective. 

Where I personally think tx sometimes goes wrong is in the hands of lousy or mediocre doctors and labs.  Or if the bc is just inherently super aggressive, then sometimes nothing we do is going to stop it.  But for the vast majority of women with early stage bc, surgery, chemo & rads are a logical option -- maybe not everyone's choice -- but I think it's unfair and misleading to lump it in with tx for other types of cancers that have a much worse cure rate and broadbrush it with dated, negative stereotypes.

Again, this is just all my opinion on questions I wrestled with before I decided to take chemo and then rads, but to also use everything I could in terms of complementary tx to soften the SEs and speed healing.  In my case, the key to accepting that I needed some conventional tx was finding a medical facility (UCLA) that had an Integrative Medicine Department, so that I knew they understood alternative txs, but still used conventional because the alternatives alone weren't enough.  And I think there are many more institutions going this way.  Also, the fact that I'd always eaten healthy and taken a lot of supplements yet still got bc made me think that maybe a good jolt of conventional stuff was necessary, to rid my body of the bc and make a fresh start, which I've done with the help of a naturopath who is rebalancing my hormones, an even better diet, and a lot more exercise.  I don't know for sure, but in my case, I don't think those or any other alternative things alone would have been enough.      Deanna