Asserting that PSA screening does more harm that good, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends that healthy men should not receive them as part of routine cancer screening. The same panel has long advised men over 75 to forgo the tests, whose positive results may or may not indicate the presence of cancer. The new recommendation extends that do-not-screen advice to healthy men of all ages. The Washington Post reports that the task force analyzed all previous research on this subject and concluded that there is little if any mortality benefit. It also found that routine screening often leads to unnecessary treatment of prostate cancer that is so slow growing that it would never become life-threatening. Treatment of prostate cancer often has unfortunate side effects, such as impotence, incontinence, infections, and even death. In this Op Ed from the New York Times, Richard J. Ablin, the urologist and researcher who discovered PSA in 1970, regrets what has become of it.
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I had prostate cancer surgery almost 2years ago. If I hadn’t had a PSA test followed by a positive biopsy it would have killed me. I was 51 years old. The patient next to me in the hospital was 32 years old.His doctor accidentally ordered a PSA and it came back high around 8-10. It was confirmed by a biopsy. He would be dead too. I don’t understand the reasoning..if a high PSA test is confirmed by a biopsy then there is no unnecessary treatment. Why wouldn’t those who make these recommendations even mention to confrm with a biopsy. A lot of men will die if these new guidelines are followed.
Regarding: “Feds’ Panel Says No Prostate Screening October 7, 2011 7:43 amâ€Â
I ‘kinda’ knew that PS testing + the prostate treatments were NOT correct! The planting of 64 radio active seeds into my prostate PLUS the chems (the Casodex & Zoladex) are devastating to ANY man’s manhood! I imagine that this is what is done to men that are sexual offenders where they get ordered by the law courts to be castrated for their sexual crimes not to be repeated!
I am one of these victims! I went from a very sexually active male to a non-functioning man in less than two years… and then there is the persisting mental anguish that accompanies the ‘cancer’ news … and of course the castration continues! This is for the rest of my so-called life! To the doctors and hospital is only about the money they can make! !
This study group seems to be for abolishing all tests to detect prostate cancer until symptoms develop. They not only question the reliability of PSA tests but also the effectiveness or necessity for treatment, especially older men. My personal experience and research is a challenge to their conclusions. I’m 78 and for 10 years my psa test showed low readings from .9 to 1.3 until 2 years ago when it went to 2.3 and eight months later to 5.0. after a biopsy indcated positive with a gleason of 7 I was body scanned for metastasis which was negative and then after consulting with my urologist and oncologist decided on IMGRT radiation for 9 weeks 5 days per week. During treatment I continued my normal routine at the gym 7 days per week along with normal golf and experienced no significant side effects. My final treatment was on july 19th and I feel great with no impairments. In talking with others undergoing treatment some experienced fatigue and irregularities with urinary and bowel functions but most had multiple health issues besides the prostate. I am in great condition other than the prostate issue. Despite this panels report I would still opt for treatment rather than risk the matatasis to other organs which could be devastating. My reasoning is that since no one has discovered for certain the cause of prostate cancer it’s highly unlikely they can detect the progression from slow growth tumors to fast growth in time to prevent mastasis using the “watchful waiting” approach. I believe most experts would agree that the progression of cancer is somewhat different in each individual and therefore reliable predictions are problematic.
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