Do Breast Cancer Screenings Prevent Breast Cancer Deaths?
In my blog post of the same name, I discussed the surprising new comments made by the American Cancer Society about the effectiveness of breast cancer and prostate cancer screenings in actually preventing these cancers. This is a huge discussion that is so relevant to members of the Breast Cancer community! In lieu of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this news is even more pertinent.
While both breast and prostate cancer early-detection rates have gone up - the late-detection, late-stage cancer rates have not decreased. This means that many patients are being treated for cancers that aren't necessarily the serious, deadly ones.
What do you think about this news?
In your other communities, have there been any great discussions, comments, or questions? Share them!
How can we, as Health Activists, keep the peace between potentially angry screening-advocates and adamant screening-skeptics?
What part about this news do you think is the "take away" message?
What would you tell members of your community about cancer screenings?
How can we encourage people to find out their own risk by talking to their doctor and learning their family history?
Will this news change the way everyone views the Breast Cancer movement?
Do you think this news is so big because so many people are aware of Breast Cancer?
While both breast and prostate cancer early-detection rates have gone up - the late-detection, late-stage cancer rates have not decreased. This means that many patients are being treated for cancers that aren't necessarily the serious, deadly ones.
What do you think about this news?
In your other communities, have there been any great discussions, comments, or questions? Share them!
How can we, as Health Activists, keep the peace between potentially angry screening-advocates and adamant screening-skeptics?
What part about this news do you think is the "take away" message?
What would you tell members of your community about cancer screenings?
How can we encourage people to find out their own risk by talking to their doctor and learning their family history?
Will this news change the way everyone views the Breast Cancer movement?
Do you think this news is so big because so many people are aware of Breast Cancer?
Tags: acs, breast, cancer, cervical, colon, detection, mammogram, prostate, screenings, treatment
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alicia C. Staley on -
I think this news confuses the issue about the effectiveness of screening even more. Yes, there's no question that awareness and screenings have helped detect early stage cancers. This is a good thing. For late-stage cancers - it's not working. That means we need to find different methods of detecting these serious cancers. How does cancer become so advanced? What concerns me are the agencies like the ACS form opinions assuming that cancer progression is a linear thing. Maybe that needs to be reviewed! Is cancer progression really linear? Can it really be detected STAGE by STAGE as it grows? do we even know that's the case? How can cancer get all the way to stage 4 - simple: They're asymptomatic, which means NO symptons. There might not be a huge lump and a patient not recognize other changes in his or her heatlh as "serious".
As a three time cancer survivor, I would never suggest that there's such a thing as over-screening. No way. Screening is helping. Now it's time to take screening to a deeper level.
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Permalink Reply by Dianne Rees on -
My take away is that it means that more research is needed to identify reliable molecular markers of cancer. It's a real dilemma for docs. Right now we're just not there and so screening may be contributing to rising health care and insurance costs. However, if you're a doc, do you want to be telling a patient this when they might be the one person who could benefit from screening? Individuals don't tend to care about statistics.
The hope for many researchers is that more molecular marker studies will facilitate personalized medicine...allowing oncologists to determine the best treatments based on a person's genetics and even better, permitting early diagnosis. The danger is when the hype of it drowns out the actual data...we're just not there yet. And because of the complicated genetics of cancer it's likely that many genetics tests will actually be needed to create a truly accurate profile of someone "at risk" for cancer.
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Permalink Reply by Stan on -
Too often the body's natural ability to destroy and rid itself of aberrant cells is ignored by the medical profession. Our bodies produce and eliminate cancerous cells many times in our lifetimes and it is only when the immune system is not functioning properly that cancer becomes a problem. Our diets and lifestyles are very much responsible for the rise in detectable cancers as we challenge our immune systems.
I know of a lady who had lost over 60% of her lung capacity to cancer who refused chemotherapy. Her immune system kicked in and recognized the tumor. Many years later she was still doing well, the cancer having been stopped by her body's own defenses. While this is not the usual case, it points out that the medical profession's focus on treatment is sometimes in its self interest.
Billions of dollars have been spent in the "war on cancer" without much change in the therapies used. We are better at detecting tumors, but not very effective in our treatments of them. One might conclude that there is an interest in growing the cancer "business", rather than developing cures.
One must be his or her own advocate in deciding how to deal with cancers. Do your own research of the studies coming out of the laboratories.
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Permalink Reply by DrB on
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New mammography guidelines may be a blessing in disguise for personalized medicine. See http://cli.gs/vj18PT
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