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Vol. 9, No. 1a |
Winter Extra Edition 2010 |
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Jerry Bylander, Editor jerryby@cableone.net |
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A leading Cancer society has downplayed the testing for prostate cancer, CAP, and played up quality of life, which has also been emphasized by leading prostate cancer organizations for the last two years. The Society has reduced their recommendations for DRE and PSA testing. A similar campaign was introduced for breast cancer, the women howled, and more sensible testing guide lines were instituted.
Men won't complain however, and the death rate
and suffering will increase. For example, if you are in your
fifties and are diagnosed with CAP, you have a VERY Serious condition.
And this leading organization has again missed
two points of PSA testing. IT IS NOT THE PSA THAT IS IMPORTANT, IT IS
THE PSA DOUBLING TIME THAT IS CRITICAL. A doubling time of less than a
year must be addressed quickly. More importantly, waiting for the
Gleason score to reach 6 or 7 can improve your quality of life.
The second point is that the patient must be
involved in treatment decisions, since, with all that is going on, doctors
cannot keep up with the fine points of therapy and diagnosis for every
disease. And a second opinion from a specialist can, in some dicey
cases, be critical to your quality of life.
Jerry Bylander, Managing Director, USToo! Texoma |