The language of cancer care and “survivorship”

Every year it raises its head again ... the way we often use militaristic and emotional language to describe the experience of dealing with cancer ... not just as patients and caregivers but as researchers and physicians too. This time the message comes from my friend Howard Wolinsky, a Chicago-based journalist who writes regularly on …

“Data” is a plural noun!

How many times have you seen (or heard someone say) something like, "The data shows that 40,000 women will die of breast cancer this year"? Actually, "the data shows" nothing of the sort. For a start, the word "data" is the plural of the singular word "datum" -- from Latin, and the word "datum" originally …