Regular breast self exams, pap smears, mammograms, colonoscopies, prostate exams, full excision and pathological examination of moles that once were just shaved off at skin level, even routine full body scans—our understandable fear of cancer is reflected in the many procedures available and often recommended in hopes of besting this scourge.
However, there is a downside to all this screening that is now beginning to be recognized.
However, there is a downside to all this screening that is now beginning to be recognized.
In an article questioning the wisdom of celebrity endorsements of cancer screening, I came upon these astonishing statements:
- Counterintuitive as it may sound, it's sometimes better not to find out about cancer
- Some cancers are likely to resolve themselves without treatment
- Some patients may be likely to die of another ailment before cancer becomes an issue
- The risk of false positives seems to increase with more screenings
- Overdiagnosis…is an increasing problem
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has a collection of current recommendations for cancer screening, plus a lot more. I don't know anything about this organization, and in any case it is no ultimate authority, but it's a place to start.
Having known people whose lives were probably saved by cancer screening, and people whose lives were probably shortened by cancer screening, I can only conclude that life is never as simple as we want it to be.
Comments
Add comment
