Over-Diagnosing Prostate Cancer |
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H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., an internist at VA Hospital/Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H., says, "The harder we look for cancer, the more pseudo-disease we find." Pseudo-disease is cancer that won't harm you if left untreated, according to Dartmouth Dr. Gil Welch. "We assume they're all bad, and we tend to treat people."
The treatment leaves some men with unnecessary side effects -- like impotence and incontinence. Dr. Welch, who literally wrote the book on screening, questions just how useful it is. "What we should be doing is tell people the whole story and let different people come to different decisions," he tells Ivanhoe. Of course, Dr. Welch does have opposition. Gary Onik, M.D., a radiologist at Florida Hospital Celebration Health, says, "That's kind of tunnel thinking, you know. Let's not diagnose it because the treatments are bad." Dr. Onik does acknowledge over-diagnosis happens but worries what would happen if screenings stopped.
"There are some that are very aggressive and you find those early, I think you will definitely be saving lives," Dr. Onik says. The problem is knowing which cancers are slow-growing and which will kill. There is still no readily available test to do that. If you would like more information, please contact:
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