Reporters, researchers often overstate medical advancements.

Publication: The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 The Miami Herald

Byline: John Dorschner

Feb. 27--New cure for dreaded disease, amazing new way to lift your face, super pill doubles bone-building in older women, tablet cuts in half your chance of heart attack -- many of us see the stories and rush to our doctors, demanding the latest and best -- and often the most expensive treatment.

Now, a new book, Hope or Hype, co-authored by a Seattle physician, offers an unsettling look at the media's coverage of supposedly sensational new developments in medicine.

'So many times you hear of 'miracle breakthrough' but it's not," co-author Richard A. Deyo said in a telephone interview.

Miracle and breakthrough usually translate to hugely expensive. Deyo and co-author Donald L. Patrick, both University of Washington professors, sub-titled their book: "The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises."

One chapter, "Cancer Cured: Film at 11," focuses...

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