Ken’s Take: Since I’m in the prime group for prostate cancer — and since a couple of friends have been detected and treated (successfully) — I’ve been a fan of PSA tests. But, I’ve had 3 docs try to talk me out of getting the tests. Here’s their rationale … which raises a broader question re: preventative healthcare.
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Excerpted from RCP: Government by Holiday Inn Express, October 27, 2009
Another silver bullet the administration has peddled is preventive care.
Everyone knows that a timely PSA test will detect prostate cancer at an early and treatable phase thus saving the patient’s life and saving money, right?
Not exactly. The test is obviously worthwhile for that individual. But testing all men for prostate cancer — an overwhelming majority of whom will never get the disease — is expensive.
If more and more of us are tested for more and more diseases — even accounting for some illnesses found early — health spending will rise, not fall.
Further complicating the picture, the National Cancer Society has announced that the benefits of cancer screenings, particularly for breast and prostate cancers, have been oversold. They aren’t saving very many lives, but they are causing needless tests and surgeries.
Full article:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/10/27/government_by_holiday_inn_express_98882.html#
The Homa Files 
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