Interesting stuff from the American Cancer Society when it comes to cancer screenings. It seems the society is taking a new, and perhaps, more realistic look at the benefits of screening.
"The advantages of screening have been overstated." So says the head of the ACS, Dr. Otis Brawley.
It makes you wonder what exactly that means, and what we should be doing to find cancer early.
At the bottom of the page is a link to the original article, which appeared in the New York Times.
I think the gist of this whole thing is the benefits of screening for prostate and breast cancer are not as great as we've been hearing. But when it comes to screening for colon cancer or melanoma, the benefits seems clear.
Its a tough message. But I do worry people will get the wrong message, that is, cancer screenings may be a waste of time. Thats not so.
When it comes to breast cancer, stick to the recommended schedule for screening. I do think, however, prostate cancer screenings need to be recommended on an individual basis- in other words, one size may not fit all. We'll see where this one lands.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/health/21cancer.html?_r=1&hpw
