Comments on: Should we stop calling it prostate “cancer”?

By: Tom Hamilton

Tom Hamilton — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 06:36:30 +0000

If your dad (especially before age 67 or so) or brother had/has prostate cancer (PCA), you need early screening around age 30. We need PSA stratified by age ranges; earlier screening will catch the fast growing cancer. The PSA doubling time is key. Even though I was supposedly gleason 3+3, the fast doubling time of 6 months shows it was dangerous. The free PSA helps when PSA is over about 4.0. My PSA at 43 was 3.5, and my free PSA was just 12% (suspiciously low). I read that average 40 year-olds have PSA around 0.7; but the test results show a “don’t worry” range to 3.5 based on 80-year-olds. I have seen men in their early 50s die from PCA. Low Testosterone (in my case) was caused by the PCA; pre-surgery it was 210, after 415.

Sadly, my PSA is back after 2.5 years, but I have kept it stable for 6 mo with B-DIM (BioResponse brand DIM, a broccoli chemical). To avoid nausea or heartburn, I have to take it after eating a few bites, then continue eating immediately. Started with 1 150mg, now 3 per day. I had Stable PSA at the low dose, (improved from doubling every 6 months!).

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By: Steve Sywak

Steve Sywak — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:41:01 +0000

In those 5 men where prostate cancer is suggested but none is found, do you mean that none is found at the needle biopsy? Or that none is found after surgery? That’s a HUGE difference! Saying “none is found after radiation” is, of course, meaningless.

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By: Dr Joe Today

Dr Joe Today — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:03:45 +0000

[…] The original article appears here […]

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By: Prostatakrebs Symptome

Prostatakrebs Symptome — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:49:18 +0000

[…] […]

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By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:08:22 +0000

“… the over diagnosed person is so relieved not to have what they never had (cancer) that they question no further…” This is precisely how I felt too after undergoing my own disfiguring breast surgery – for nothing. Thanks for your comment, Dr. Joe.
Cheers,
C

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By: Dr Joe Kosterich

Dr Joe Kosterich — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:53:29 +0000

Screening tests can do considerable harm but this is never really made clear to the public. The over diagnosed person is so relieved not to have what they never had (cancer) that they question no further.

PSA screening is now rightly discredited and screening (as against diagnostic) mammography will hopefully not be far behind. Doctors but also cancer councils and patient advocacy groups all have been culpable in this.

Great post Carolyn🙂

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By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:24:26 +0000

Thanks for your perspective, Pedrinha. Several years ago, I was one of those women who underwent ‘useless terrifying undeserved’ treatment (an invasive and disfiguring surgical procedure called a quadrant resection for what turned out to be a harmless benign breast mass) based entirely on misleading mammography results. We often hear the ‘screening saved my life’ anecdotes – but rarely those stories like mine.

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By: Pedrinha

Pedrinha — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:48:44 +0000

A diagram such as the one at the top of this paper would be very telling if you did it based on Gøtzsche and Zahl’s papers*, on screening mammograms.
* Journal of the National Cancer Institute: “. . .screening mammography did not reduce breast cancer mortality.”

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By: Pedrinha

Pedrinha — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:46:46 +0000

About breast cancer, it is not only a Ductal Carcinoma In Situ issue. There is now abundant compelling literature on the topic.

There seems to be minimal (according to screenerists) up to 20% or even up to 50% (according to nayscreenerists) overdiagnoses (and useless terrifying undeserved and apparently successful treatments for mammogram screening diagnosed breast cancers). This is counterintuitive but looks true to me.

Unfortunately it leaves women in a cruel situation of uncertainty about what to do. I will probably hear a few “my life was saved by screening” replies, anecdotes that bear little meaning, scientifically speaking.

My wife keeps on doing her mammograms, and I don’t think it is right. Fortunately we live in a country where radiologists are less likely to fear litigation and to cover their you know what, which likely increases overdiagnosis.

But maybe you talked about this ethical topic earlier, I’ll go have a look.

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By: The Cancer Site

The Cancer Site — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:46:35 +0000