The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the group that told women in their 40s that they don’t need mammograms, will soon recommend that men not get screened for prostate cancer, according to a source privy to the task force deliberations. This is truly unfortunate. My dad died of prostate cancer at the age of 66. He had a particularly aggressive form of prostate cancer which was detected before he had a tumor or any symptoms at all; it was detected simply because his PSA levels had risen. I truly believe that because it was caught so soon, we had him in our lives for three more years. Had he not tested (as per the advice that is about to come out), given the aggressive nature of his cancer, he probably would have died much sooner due to lack of treatment.
The article does say, “Maybe you should get tested if you have this horrible family history where everyone gets prostate cancer before the age of 50. But for most men, testing is harmful.” Well, there is not a history of prostate cancer in his family, before 50 or not. And quite frankly, I don’t like the idea of my brothers not getting tested, especially with as aggressive a form of prostate cancer my dad had.
You want to know when I might agree with this kind of recommendation? When it comes from insurance companies. It obviously is cheaper to test a bunch of men for early detection, rather than waiting and really incur some steep costs. Same goes for annual mammograms and pap smears. If the insurance companies continue to pay, then there is truly a benefit.
Another article just released: http://news.yahoo.com/panel-advises-against-prostate-cancer-screening-024452851.html
