The XX Factor: What women really think.

Breasts and Prostates

Today's paper has a story I knew was coming but have truly dreaded. It turns out that PSAs—the screening test for prostate cancer—may do more harm than good. Most of these cancers are very slow growing, it turns out, and may not need to be treated. Meanwhile, the operations to treat them have serious consequences. So many men have undergone the surgeries needlessly. My father had the surgery, and it really ruined his life. The idea that he may not have needed it kills me.

My takeaway from this story is that when a certain kind of science hysteria takes hold, rational risk analysis goes out the window. When you say "test" and "cancer," the rest of the qualifications and probabilities don't get heard. This is on my mind because of the reaction I've gotten to my recent Atlantic story, "The Case Against Breast-Feeding," where I challenge some of the science supporting breast-feeding.

Of course I've heard from hundreds of grateful moms, and an equal number of people telling me what an evil mother and wife I am. And I've also heard from lots of science scolds. A typical such response is this one from our sisters at Salon.

On closer inspection, we have to conclude that her reporting is biased. She cherry-picked research that suited her agenda, the research suggesting that breast milk isn't really all it's been hyped to be. Yet between us we have interviewed dozens of highly regarded researchers and pediatricians who could offer a point-counterpoint to the research Rosin highlighted.

This is really not good enough. As the latest prostate cancer study shows, it's perfectly possible for the scientific establishment to be in agreement and also wrong. This is like interviewing generals in Iraq about whether the surge is going well. They may be experts, but they are experts with a stake in the outcome. Yes, I highlighted a few studies that support my point. But mainly what I did was critique the research as a whole. And what I found was that if you say "infant" and "health" in the same sentence, no one bothers with the details.