Nelie - I realize that what you and what Tom say about continuing to learn and understanding the process is important to some. I also understand that none of us can know all there is to know about any of these subjects, and there is new information coming everyday, every hour even. Some, like you and Tom, revel in the new data, others are confused by it. You are better trained to interpret it knowing about bias and the actual nature of scientific publishing, but for others it is a maze of information with no road map. Look at the number of publications on whether or not coffee is good or bad for you.... hundreds and they still can't tell us for sure. That doesn't mean that the media do not pick up the stories and run with them every time something new comes out. In the end who has been served by it? I still don't know if I should be drinking coffee or not!

For some a statistic means hope, for others it means depression and loss of hope. We are all out of control once this hits us. In my own case knowledge and the continued pursuit of it gave me some sense of control as I felt chance favors the prepared mind. But I quickly learned that the small breakthroughs were not going to make any difference in my own case, that the protocols that were available (even at the best institutions in the world) change slowly and carefully, and my running to my doctors with the latest article I had found didn't change what they were going to do to me. I would love to understand this the way some of the researchers that I deal with do, but even they know only about their small corner of the cancer world and paradigm.

Neither Tom nor you are wrong in being curious, seeking answers etc. And certainly you have elucidated us all on the board again about the shortcoming of statistics and more. We have 20 - 40 thousand people on the web site at any given moment during our peak hours. In all likelihood they are not here because of any academic interest. There is a concern that brought them to the site