Something as simple and routine as a blood test can have life-changing consequences, and some patients whose test results from medical startup Theranos were later found to be inaccurate faced stress and worry, had to be re-tested, and made life-altering medical decisions based on wrong information. What did that look like in real life? [More]
blood tests
The Problem With Direct-To-Consumer Blood Tests: ‘Cancer Stethoscopes’ Are Not A Thing Yet
By 6.20.16
The idea of taking one blood test that tests for multiple cancers, a called a “liquid biopsy” in the medical-testing business, is a tempting one. If they work as promised, the tests check your blood for traces of various types of cancer before you even show any symptoms. The problem with these tests, meant as an option for very early cancer screening, is that they’re available, and even marketed directly to consumers, even though they haven’t been shown to actually be effective. [More]
LabCorp Wants To Skip Doctors, Sell Blood Tests Direct To Consumers
By 4.23.15
When your doctor wants to find out more about what’s going on inside your body, she orders lab tests, sending you down the street or down the hall to have someone extract your bodily fluids and perform tests on them. Laboratory Corp. of America, known on your medical bills as LabCorp, thinks that Americans want to order these tests themselves and pay for them with cash. Do they? [More]
The Red Cross Gave Me HIV/AIDS
By 3.9.06
“Although you can no longer donate blood, the American Red Cross will continue to provide for the blood needs of you and our loved ones.”
