Debate Over Cancer Screenings

October 21, 2009

The American Cancer Society is revising its position on breast and prostate cancer screenings, and it is very important that we understand exactly what this means because it is easy to misunderstand the message.

Prognosis of patients diagnosed aggressive breast and prostate cancers is improved by early detection. Mammograms and prostate specific antigen tests (PSA) screen patients for these cancers. When these aggressive cancers are detected early by screenings, treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation) can be used to combat and treat the cancer. However, some breast and prostate cancers are not aggressive, and in fact, these non-aggressive cancers would never adversely affect an individual's health if they went undetected. But a screening detects non-aggressive cancers as easily as it detects aggressive cancers and when the non-aggressive cancers are treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation, the patient experiences all the side effects and complications of the treatment - unnecessarily.

The American Cancer Society is not saying that screenings themselves are potentially harmful; ACS is suggesting that the information gained from screenings should be used carefully. Patients and physicians need to carefully consider the need for treatment. ACS is suggesting that "watchful waiting" is appropriate for some cancers.

To read an article about this in the New York Times: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33408887/ns/health-the_new_york_times/