Health News
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
If you?re a man or someone who cares about one, you?ll want to pay attention to the updated government panel recommendations for prostate cancer screening in healthy men. A panel of national experts reviewed the risks and benefits of preventive prostate cancer screening using a blood measurement of PSA, an index of prostate problems.
But the evidence is mixed regarding the survival of prostate cancer, as well as its diagnosis. This is a sensitive test, and the problem is that it can reflect other prostate-related medical problems, not just cancer. This means that a higher PSA level might not mean cancer much of the time ? what?s called a ?false positive? result.
Strategies for ?early detection? of any medical illness are always being developed and refined. With prostate cancer screening, the panel reflects the view that this should now be a more personalized health decision, requiring a conversation with your doctor to discuss the pros and cons of screening.
This task force also urged that doctors understand the evidence, but they also individualize decision making for a particular patient or circumstance.
This is another example of medical progress; it should not be cause for alarm or confusion. As more evidence-based information is accumulated regarding the risks and benefits of medical screenings, it?s important to open a dialogue with your doctor about what is best for you.
Population data do not always apply to the individual. Become an informed and empowered health care consumer for yourself and those you care about.
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Health News
Prostate Cancer Screening
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
If you?re a man or someone who cares about one, you?ll want to pay attention to the updated government panel recommendations for prostate cancer screening in healthy men. A panel of national experts reviewed the risks and benefits of preventive prostate cancer screening using a blood measurement of PSA, an index of prostate problems.
Strategies for ?early detection? of any medical illness are always being developed and refined. With prostate cancer screening, the panel reflects the view that this should now be a more personalized health decision, requiring a conversation with your doctor to discuss the pros and cons of screening.
This task force also urged that doctors understand the evidence, but they also individualize decision making for a particular patient or circumstance.
This is another example of medical progress; it should not be cause for alarm or confusion. As more evidence-based information is accumulated regarding the risks and benefits of medical screenings, it?s important to open a dialogue with your doctor about what is best for you.
Population data do not always apply to the individual. Become an informed and empowered health care consumer for yourself and those you care about.
- Lung Cancer Gets Much Less Research Funding Than Other Cancers, But Is Deadlier, Especially In Kentucky
Lung cancer takes more lives annually than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined, but the disease "generally doesn't get the public attention or research dollars in proportion to its lethality," Arielle Densen, co-founder of Lung Cancer Free...
- Wkyt Anchor Sam Dick Finishes Radiation Treatment For Recurring Prostate Cancer; Encourages Others To Monitor Their Health
Photo from www.mediabistro.com Longtime WKYT-TV anchor Sam Dick believed that his battle with prostate cancer was over, but found out six months ago that some of the cancer remained. He reported on his diagnosis and treatment as he neared the...
- Federal Panel Says Psa Screening For Prostate Cancer Does More Harm Than Good, But No Better Test Is Available
Prostate cancer cells. Getty Images photo by Abbey Michael.An influential federal panel says testing healthy men's prostate-specific antigen levels to detect prostate cancer does more harm than good. The PSA test can lead to unnecessary biopsies for...
- Study Finds New Prostate-cancer Test Is Better Than Current One
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles say they have developed a new test for prostate cancer that is "more sensitive and more specific" than the usual test for prostate-specific antigen, the UCLA Health System says in a news release...
- Guidelines For Prostate Cancer Screening Revised
by Sandra Crockett When it comes to cancer screening, the process of early detection and treatment seem straightforward. But slightly revised guidelines from the American Cancer Society encourage physicians and patients to have a conversation about prostate...