Increasing resources directed at detecting and treating breast cancer in the past decade have encouraged the development of innovative products and procedures. The prominence of breast cancer has become a means of creating wealth.
Commercial enterprises have sought to increase their market share by producing new commodities and services, making exaggerated claims of benefit or minimizing risk, creating demand, and limiting competition.
Examples such as mammography screening, high dose chemotherapy, and the introduction of genetic testing, illustrate these economic strategies. Financial interest in breast cancer has limited and distorted the information that is available to affected women and their advocates.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to recognize the ways in which economic influences and the medical marketplace distort our understanding of and women's experiences with breast cancer
Keywords: Breast Cancer, Politics
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.