Honestly, I think it's the whole field of physical anthropology! For the record, I've never experienced this kind of lack of rigor among archaeologists, but Mr. H may have a different take on it.
That's a good point about term slippage. There is a definite association between the word "tumor" and the word "cancer," even though not every tumor is cancerous and not every cancer manifests in tumor form (like multiple myeloma, for example). Also, in a very, very few cases of fibrous dysplasia, a tumor can become malignant (but it's totally unclear from the state of the bone whether it had become a malignant tumor). So I can certainly understand how someone could think, "cancer," right after hearing the word, "tumor," but you really need to be careful about making that association if you're publishing on it.
I am so sorry to hear about your mom's cancer and your sister's hepatitis. From what I understand, treatment for hepatitis is horrible and it goes for nearly a year. I can really understand her saying she wanted to stop taking the pills and shots, ugh. How is she doing?
That's a good point about term slippage. There is a definite association between the word "tumor" and the word "cancer," even though not every tumor is cancerous and not every cancer manifests in tumor form (like multiple myeloma, for example). Also, in a very, very few cases of fibrous dysplasia, a tumor can become malignant (but it's totally unclear from the state of the bone whether it had become a malignant tumor). So I can certainly understand how someone could think, "cancer," right after hearing the word, "tumor," but you really need to be careful about making that association if you're publishing on it.
I am so sorry to hear about your mom's cancer and your sister's hepatitis. From what I understand, treatment for hepatitis is horrible and it goes for nearly a year. I can really understand her saying she wanted to stop taking the pills and shots, ugh. How is she doing?
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