Follies and Fallacies in Medicine

In this succinct, balanced critical appraisal of contemporary medical theory and practice, Dublin-based oncologist Skrabanek and McCormick, president of the Irish College of General Practitioners, expose both the medical establishment's rigid dogmas and the premises of alternative healing's adherence to largely unproven preventive measures and panaceas. Neither school of thought, the authors claim, takes seriously enough nature's healing powers or the important role played in disease prevention by living conditions and behavior. They also challenge the value of what they consider the ethically questionable, even harmful effects of screening tests such as mammography--which, they claim, are often responsible for flawed diagnoses. A concluding chapter draws distinctions between medicine's moral commitment and the essential amorality of science. (Nov.)