Prostate cancer screening should not be offered to most men
Discussion
Its only one the largest killers of men over the age of 50, and the largest cancer cause of death cancer of men over 50.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm20169gz44o
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm20169gz44o
The NHS find it convenient for men to die because it's cheaper for them and they reckon we won't complain much.
Out of my fathers generation in our village out 6 out of 8 died of Prostate cancer. Every single one in good shape in every other way living active lives. We're told this is a disease of extreme old age. It's not.
Out of my fathers generation in our village out 6 out of 8 died of Prostate cancer. Every single one in good shape in every other way living active lives. We're told this is a disease of extreme old age. It's not.
Arnold Cunningham said:
Clearly just cost cutting.
Yeah, I think "More or Less" covered this. The guest Doctor gave all the false logic about why people should not get PSA tests. Then at the end, as an aside, he mentioned that the NHS couldn't handle the extra work. So I think we can safely that that's the real reason. Men dying at 71 is very good for the NHS so they're making it happen.I had the colon cancer scare at 48
Thank bob it was clear, but I know two people only a few years older than me who had colon cancer, one left it ages until getting it checked out...............and it was too late.
The other having seen the other die of colon cancer had been feeling a it little off, got tested and it was positive but it was caught very early saving his life.
Thank bob it was clear, but I know two people only a few years older than me who had colon cancer, one left it ages until getting it checked out...............and it was too late.
The other having seen the other die of colon cancer had been feeling a it little off, got tested and it was positive but it was caught very early saving his life.
The psa test is unreliable and often misleading,how can that be the basis of screening ?
And I say that as someone who has an enlarged prostate and who's brother has recently had his prostate removed because of cancer which has now spread to elsewhere in his body.
There needs to be developed a more accurate way to diagnose the disease before it can be introduced as a national screening test
And I say that as someone who has an enlarged prostate and who's brother has recently had his prostate removed because of cancer which has now spread to elsewhere in his body.
There needs to be developed a more accurate way to diagnose the disease before it can be introduced as a national screening test
While I understand the limitations of the PSA test and the risk of false positives, it seems the best we have currently and surely is just an indicator that further tests are needed. I am in a high risk category, over 50 with a close family member who had prostate cancer (my Dad had it when he died, but it wasn't the cause of his death). Yet the Nurse at my GP practice has said they won't do PSA tests unless I have symptoms by which time it could be too late. While I understand the reasoning behind todays decision I do find it frustrating, especially when people like Sir Chris Hoy go on TV telling people to get tested but the NHS won't do the tests.
There are several large scale clinical trials underway in the UK to ascertain the best method to screen for prostate cancer. The decision announced today seems lazy, premature, and uninformed - and at worst unprofessional considering the serious work already in progress. Given the large number of deaths every year due to prostate cancer, it seems political rather than evidence based. Shameful TBH and very much lacking in any situational awareness.
BunkMoreland said:
No one cares about Men or their longevity
As long as you understand that. You wont get upset by it
But do you care? Any man over the age of 50 should have taken ownership of their own health years ago. It is better to do this stuff on your own anyway if you can possibly afford it.As long as you understand that. You wont get upset by it
The PSA test for example can be ordered privately today for £35 quid with a Black Friday deal.
Alpacaman said:
While I understand the limitations of the PSA test and the risk of false positives, it seems the best we have currently and surely is just an indicator that further tests are needed. I am in a high risk category, over 50 with a close family member who had prostate cancer (my Dad had it when he died, but it wasn't the cause of his death). Yet the Nurse at my GP practice has said they won't do PSA tests unless I have symptoms by which time it could be too late. While I understand the reasoning behind todays decision I do find it frustrating, especially when people like Sir Chris Hoy go on TV telling people to get tested but the NHS won't do the tests.
I became something of an advocate for PSA testing after being diagnosed with, and then treated for, prostate cancer. When my first test was 'on the line' I was told by my doctor it would be monitored over my regular annual blood tests. I had two, then was tested 6 monthly, and eventually went to hospital for scans and eventually the final biopsy by endoscopy. All the way through I was told the PSA level was not diagnostic, but merely an indicator. I think the figure was 3% of those who were over the line (I was well over by the time of the biopsy) had cancer, and not all of those required treatment.The 'C' word is scary and during the procedures required I kept meeting people who had left it too late, some quite young, one particular chap with a young family eight weeks to live and was having radiotherapy merely to ease pain, not as a treatment. I was in a hospital ward for one procedure and one inmate I chatted with said, 'They left it too late'. We have had a number of famous people dying from prostate cancer tell us on TV, 'Don't leave it too late', and yet we have this policy.
The term 'risk of false positives' seems to me to be nonsensical. If the test is only an indicator, it can't give a positive.
I was caught in time and responded well to treatment. I have an annual PSA test (just after my car's MoT) and the results have been positive (negative?) so far.
I have told all my relatives and friends to get tested just in case, and the brother of one, who decided to get a PSA test, has just had his surgically removed. I don't know the log-term prognosis, but it's probably better than it was.
I've had two lumps in my throat, and went in for a biopsy where, if the lumps were found to be cancerous, I'd have had a tracheotomy. One bloke in my group, one who worked on airplane engines at Gatwick, in an atmosphere of poorly burnt kerosene, didn't have the tracheotomy but was sent home to die. The phrase, 'caught too late' came to mind. I was the only bloke in the clear at the end. I've had two friends died of bowel cancer, both identified 'too late'. What on earth is wrong with the concept of false positives?
I think this step is retrograde.
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