Prostate Cancer Screening Not Recommended For Men Over 75
August 5th, 2008 | by admin |
A new report released by the Preventive Services Task Force finds that men who are over the age of 75 do not need to undergo prostate cancer tests, as the stress involved with them can be more harmful.
The report states that men who have to undergo the prostate cancer screening test are subjected to just as many side effects as they do benefits from receiving the invasive test.
According to the report, which is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the majority of cancer doctors in the US already object to treating men in this age group due to the fact that in more cases than not, they end up dying from other sometimes unrelated causes.
Men who are under the age of 75, should contact their doctors to discuss possible options when it comes to prostate cancer screening.
Of course the new guidelines have their critics, with many experts feeling that they are just an attempt to save money when it comes to medical care and associated costs.
“It sounds like a regulation promulgated by an HMO” to save money, said Dr. Dudley Danoff, president of Tower Urology in Los Angeles.
“I don’t think it is fair to a guy who is 75. Yesterday’s 75 is not the 75 of the 1950s. . . . If you stop screening and treating men at 75, you are going to have a lot more people dying of prostate cancer.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
