The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "breast clinic" ...
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Foreign Objects
A Star-Ledger investigation revealed that "while implants save or improve the lives of millions of people, thousands suffer in pain, disfigurement, immobility and, in some cases, death. The multimillion-dollar medical implant industry is supposed to be overseen by the Food and Drug Administration, but in fact it is regulated so laxly that devices often reach the market without clinical testing and with little oversight afterwards."
Tags: implants; medicine; artificial heart valves; pacemakers; dental implants; joint replacement; breast enhancements; Food and Drug Administration; FDA
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Hope Sells
"Starting with casual introductions at public alternative health fairs and culminating inside clinics in Tijuana, PrimeTime followed the process through which a cancer patient can get scammed into paying tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars for useless, ineffective treatments.." Investigators found United States - based companies that operate illegal clinics in Mexico to offer alternative cancer treatments. Investigators went to the clinics, consulted experts and concluded that they made outrageous claims that could cost cancer patients their lives. The story shut down one clinic.
Tags: cancer treatment; sting operation; alternative medicine; chemotherapy; satellite clinics; quack; medicine; Mexico border; breast cancer; National Cancer Institute; Federal Trade Commission; Baja California
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Uninformed Consent: What patients at "The Hutch' weren't told about the experiments in which they died.
"PATIENTS DIED PREMATURELY in two failed clinical trials at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center-- experiments in which the Center and its doctors had a financial interest. The patients and their families were never told about those connections, nor were they fully and properly informed about the risks of the experiments ... The patients in these trials were ill with cancers that, left untreated, would almost certainly have killed them. But many stood a good chance of survival or at least prolonged life with traditional care. Instead, many actually died from the experiments --sooner than they would have with no treatment at all."
Tags: conflict of interest; T- cells; bone marrow transplants; clinical trial; disclosure; biotechnology; breast cancer; IRB; Institutional Review Board; chemotherapy; stem-cell transplant; Pentoxifylline; PTX; nonprofit; hospital
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As More Women Seek Mammograms, Many Have to Wait Months
The Wall Street Journal says the feud between doctors and managed-care insurers over reimbursements for mammograms has led to the shutting down of many imaging centers. This despite the fact that there is a growing demand for new facilities. The situation is so bad that women have to wait anywhere from two to six months to get an appointment with a radiologist. Many imaging centers are dropping managed-care providers because their rate of reimbursement barely covers the cost of the tests.
Tags: medical insurance; breast cancer; cancer; mammogram; breast clinic; ultrasound; scan; radiologist; imaging centers; breast tumor; health insurance