We deserve accurate, quantified information about the known benefits of treatments we are considering. We need answers to questions like how good the treatments are that we’re being asked to consider, and what level of evidence we have for their use. How long have they been studied, and in how many patients? Are those patients like us, or do they differ in meaningful ways? If high-quality research has not yet produced the answers we seek, we need to know that too.

Although we would love to banish uncertainty, we would far rather face the unknown mindfully than blindly. 

Musa Mayer, breast cancer survivor and patient advocate

Mayer, M.: Introduction to Evience-Based Communication: Language   In:  Fischhoff, B., ed. Communicating Risks and Benefits: An Evidence Based User’s Guide. (FDA, 2012).