You’re in charge of your healthcare decisions, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Are the plethora of healthcare screenings something that’s appropriate for you? That’s one question Nancy Schoenborn, a geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins, is trying to answer in her research looking at messaging for breast cancer screenings. She says there’s one clear take home message.

Schoenborn: 100 years ago medicine didn't have a lot to offer, we didn't have that many treatments, we didn't have that many tests. Now the possibility in both fronts, diagnostics and treatment are only going to increase and we have a new problem that we didn't used to have. Just because we can do something does that mean we should always do it? and so I think that's just an important awareness for the public to think about. Just because we can do all these things is that still the right thing for me? That's really the central thing I want to just make older adults think about that they are in charge of that decision.   :33

Schoenborn emphasizes that everyone needs accurate information to make the most informed decision. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.