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WARNING TO MEN: US Government Says Prostate Cancer Screenings are Unnecessary

Posted on Oct 15, 2011

Earlier this week, the United States Preventive Services Task Force dropped a bombshell recommendation: regular prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are superfluous and may cause more harm than good. An independent study from Oregon Health Science University, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, backs the task force's recommendation.

Researchers looked at five studies and discarded three, whose methods they deemed flawed. The discarded three also did not find any benefits to screening. The two studies which carried methodological weight, according to the Oregon researchers, were published in March 2009 in The New England Journal of Medicine. They followed about 258,700 men between the ages of 50 and 74 in Europe and America. Some men were given regular screenings, unlike the control group, and all individuals were followed for several years. These studies also had several flaws, but they did not affect the results significantly. Both concluded there to be no benefit to screening.

According to one of the researchers, the risks involved are slightly higher for those who are screened. To understand why, one must understand that prostate cancer is not necessarily fatal. Many people live with it without ever knowing. On the other hand, the knowledge of prostate cancer carries with it the understandable wish to eradicate the cancer, which often puts patients through aggressive treatments, which may injure internal organs and cause unintended medical conditions like impotence or incontinence.

Still, other doctors point to evidence that fatalities from prostate cancer have decreased since PSA testing was introduced. A middle course may yet be traced, whereby only those at higher risk of prostate cancer, like those with a family history, are tested.

COMMENTARY:

Let me see if I understand what the federal government is suggesting: There is a chance you might have prostate cancer, but don't bother checking because studies show risks of evaluating it can outweigh the risk of finding the cancer! This makes perfect academic sense. However, if you are the one with cancer that is undiagnosed, you're going to feel horrible when you learn the cancer has spread throughout your body. Then where will the federal government be to stop the spread of your disease?

I guarantee you they won't be sitting next to your bed in the hospital as you slowly waste away as the cancer kills you.

MORE INFO:

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions,  I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.

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Gerry practices law exclusively in the State of New York. Within New York he practices primarily in the following counties: New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk. Technically, Brooklyn is known as "Kings County," and Manhattan and New York City are known as "New York County." Staten Island is known as "Richmond County." These counties make up the New York metropolitan area.

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