I'm not sure a health post has ever been on my
blog even though I have studied it over the years. Since this one has been one
of my pet peeves, and it is such a common concern, I'm posting it. I've known
of so many men who have suffered terrible things as a result of these tests,
biopsies, treatments and surgeries that I cringe every time I hear about it.
People refuse to listen unless it comes from the establishment. The American
Cancer Society and several others have said this, but more is coming out from
the ACP and others. This is from Natural News newsletter. Also below this article see links to how to increase memory by up to 75% and how to get prevent cataracts (I've done it) ... Unless you have a very unusual doctor, don't bother talking to him/her about it. CMR
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Medical announcement reveals: Almost
everything you've been told about prostate cancer is wrong
(NaturalNews) Men, especially after the age
of 50, have long been told they need to be screened regularly for the dreaded
disease of prostate cancer with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. The
reason? Because if caught early, this common cancer can be treated before it
supposedly kills. Sound familiar? If you think these are the facts about
prostate cancer, it's time to learn the real truth.
None other than a large mainstream medical
group, the American College of Physicians (ACP), has just released a
statement changing recommendations for prostate cancer screening. And while
the official statement emphasizes that the ACP is saying patients need to be
better informed and work with doctors to decide on screening, let's take a
look at the far more important facts revealed in the announcement.
Why is the ACP saying men between the ages
of 50 and 69 should discuss PSA tests before submitting to them? Because
there are a myriad of problems with the expensive and fear-producing tests.
As the ACP media statement says, the PSA test has "limited benefits and
substantial harms."
Harm outweighs benefits
"Only men between the ages of 50 and 69
who express a clear preference for
screening should have the PSA test. For
most of these men, the harms will outweigh the benefits," said ACP
president David L. Bronson, MD, in a media statement.
How specific is the PSA when it comes to
revealing cancer? Not very.
The "Screening for Prostate Cancer: A
Guidance Statement from the American College of Physicians" paper just
published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reveals serious problems with
the PSA test. For example, PSA test results may be low when there is cancer.
But, far more commonly, PSA results may be high because of an enlarged prostate but not because of
any life threatening malignancy.
In fact, according to the National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), it is common for the prostate gland to become enlarged as a man ages,
a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or benign prostatic
hypertrophy. So what is essentially a common change in the body that goes
along with aging in many men can set off alarm bells when it causes PSA
levels to rise, sending men for more testing and potentially unneeded -- but
harmful -- treatment.
Most prostate cancers are not serious, never
kill
Following an elevated PSA test, a prostate biopsy is often ordered and it's not the
simple, risk-free procedure many people assume it to be. The new
guideline statement says this: "The biopsy involves multiple needles
being inserted into the prostate under local anesthesia, and there is a small
risk of infection or significant bleeding as well as risk of
hospitalization."
But isn't it worth the risk if cancer is
discovered? In the majority of cases, no. According to Amir Qaseem,
MD, PhD, Director of Clinical Policy for the ACP, only a small number of
prostate cancers are serious and can cause death.
"The vast majority of prostate cancers
are slow-growing and do not cause death. It is important to balance the small
benefits from screening with harms such as the possibility of incontinence,
erectile dysfunction, and other side effects that result from certain forms
of aggressive treatment," Dr. Qaseem said in a media statement.
Specifically, if cancer is diagnosed (no matter how unlikely the cancer is to
ever cause death), it will often be treated with surgery or radiation.
The ACP statement points out these treatments include a risk of death with
surgery, loss of sexual function (approximately 37 percent higher risk), and
loss of control of urination (approximately 11 percent higher risk) compared
to no surgery.
The new ACP guidelines recommends against
PSA testing at all in average-risk men younger than 50, in men older than
69, or in men who have a life expectancy of less than 10 to 15 years because
the harms of prostate cancer screening outweigh the benefits.
As NaturalNews has previously reported,
there is another possible downside to prostate cancer treatments scientists
are studying. According to findings by Chawnshang Chang, PhD, director of the
George Whipple Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Rochester
Medical Center, a common form of hormone therapy for prostate cancer may
actually spur cancer cells to grow and spread.
Sources for this article include:
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