Good Article About Cancer Screening

[prairiedream]

I saw this article about how aggressive early screening for some cancers doesn't do much good; it re-iterates Dr. McDougall's concerns about excessive screening and the harm it can do:

http://www.slate.com/id/2154563/?nav=tap3

I hope the link works, I haven't tried this before!

[KareninTN]

Thanks, that was interesting.

karenturtle

[DianeR]

Thanks. I always like seeing people who agree with me

Frankly, I stear clear of the doctor now unless I have something wrong with me.

[AnnaS]

Thanks for pointing that out. On the same website there is also a 2004 article, "Screen Saver? When it comes to cancer screening, more isn't always better" which is similarly interesting!

http://www.slate.com/id/2103428/

[NancyG]

There's a book, Should I be Tested for Cancer? by Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, which covers this topic in a lot of detail. I read it after getting both an abnormal mammogram and pap smear two summers ago. Although I did go for the follow-up/re-testing, that book certainly changed my views on the whole business, from suspicious to opposed.

The funny thing was that my regular doctor was on vacation when the results came in - and when I saw him later after the second tests, which came out okay, he said that 10 years ago they wouldn't even have bothered with a second test for the type of abnormality that had appeared, it was that minimal. So I really wonder about getting on the medical industry's treadmill.... as that article pointed out, overdiagnosis is a real problem.

[Clary]

I am pleased to see more and more of this slant being presented (finally!).