Many women with early breast cancer do not appear to need removal of their lymph nodes, as is often recommended, according to a federally funded study released Tuesday.

Read the full Washington Post story about a new study published in JAMA (abstract is here). This story is being covered in most major news sources today, and it may signal a significant treatment shift for some patients. (One of the possible adverse long-term effects of lymph node removal is lymphedema. Here’s a page with links to the two-part article we ran about the condition a while back, as well as a related blog post by senior editor Sylvia Foley that looked at what people had been writing about their experiences with this condition.)

Speaking of advice about your health and about treatments, the health care journalism blog Covering Health alerts us today to an article at the NY Times comparing health information found at the WebMD and Mayo Clinic sites. Do you prefer the glitzy, highly produced one with lots of corporate sponsors, or the nonprofit? You know which one gets more visitors . . .

And speaking of patients, as we should, what about those who are transgendered? Does it confuse or challenge you to care for such a patient? There’s a very sensitive and painful post at the blog Nursetopia about caring for a transgendered patient […]