There were two tests done, one in the U.S. and one in Europe, both coming to the conclusion that PSA testing can be very unnecessary. Prostate cancer is very slow developing, so even if you do get the cancer their is always the chance that you live a full healthy life before you feel any full effects of the cancer. Plus the blood test isn't completely effective, just because the test indicates that you have a heightened amount of PSA's in your blood stream does not indicate that you have or will have the cancer it just means that you have a higher risk. This screening is meant as a way to catch cancer before it happens, but if it comes back positive then you could undergo procedures that leave you "impotent and incontinent." The test shows that PSA screening is effective in detecting the cancer, but "finding those cancers early doesn't reduce your risk of dying from the disease." The worst part in my opinion is that they found many people received unnecessary treatment due to the screening, which means they probably became sterile from the treatment that they didn't even need to begin with. In conclusion, doctors say that even though the test shows that this screening is not necessarily accurate it doesn't mean people should not get the test because it is effective at finding the cancer. Instead, doctors say that you should still discuss it with your physician and make the decision yourself.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Prostate Screenings
The article I found this week online at New York Times was in more of a question and answer format, and I believe it was an interactive piece that people could post questions about and the author would answer them and that is why it is in this format. It is by Tara Parker-Pope and it discusses PSA testing, a blood test, as a means for testing for prostate cancer. I chose this topic because it relates to men, not so directly to myself because I won't have to worry about this test for another 20 some odd years and by then they will probably have new more accurate tests, but my dad is in his mid 40's and will be thinking about these tests sometime in the near future.
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the debate about psa screening is an interesting one, particularly for a man. i can imagine some men finding the debate troubling; they might think that everything possible should be offered to a patient and everything possible should be done if a patient shows a high psa. the science is clearly not in on this issues yet. do you think that just the screening (because of radiation) could cause more problems than it solves? this is the conclusion reached with other types of conditions.
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