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Health See other Health Articles Title: Deaths not reduced by PSA test - New Research Confirms. Once again, a new research study confirms what all the previous studies have shown, that universal prostate cancer screening has absolutely no benefit in terms of reducing the number of deaths from prostate cancer. But unfortunately the conclusions drawn from the study are in my view once again incorrect. One conclusion is that the new research from Washington University School of Medicine indicates that a screening for prostate cancer may be one thing you can scratch off your to-do list. I do not agree. The PSA test is non-invasive and relatively inexpensive and is a valuable indicator. The thing to do is to scratch biopsy off your list. A major U.S. study of more than 76,000 men indicates that although more tumors are found with screenings, these tumors are slow-growing and unlikely to lead to death. The study's lead investigator, Gerald Andriole M.D., is quoted as saying, "We need to modify our current practices and stop screening elderly men and those with a limited life expectancy. Instead, we need to take a more targeted approach and selectively screen men who are young and healthy and particularly those at high risk for prostate cancer, including African-Americans and those with a family history of the disease." The problem with what Gerald Andriole M.D is quoted as saying is who is to say whether a man who is 75 years old has a limited life expectancy? Can anyone be sure that he does not have the potential to get to 100 and beyond? He also states: "We have to take a more nuanced approach to determine which men should be screened with PSA in the first place, how frequently they should be tested, the PSA level at which they should be biopsied and whether their cancer warrants aggressive therapy." Here I would also take issue since there is no low PSA level that indicates there is definitely no prostate cancer present nor indeed, is there a high PSA level that indicates that there is a prostate cancer present. Prostate cancer has been found in men with a PSA as low as 1 and men with a PSA level of 7 have been found to be clear of prostate cancer. So there is no magic dividing line for PSA although many doctors seem to think that 4.0 is such a dividing line. Since a biopsy is an invasive procedure that causes damage and can spread any cancer if it is present, I recommend a different, more accurate and less harmful approach to assess whether there is a prostate cancer present. Indeed, there is also absolutely no science backing the suggestion that any prostate cancer warrants aggressive therapy. Dr. Andriole is suggesting there should be a more nuanced approach but what he is recommending is far from nuanced. However my prostate protection program is more nuanced and the only downside is that it is not covered by medical insurance. If you would like more information about my PPP, just let me know. Where I do wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Andriole in his press release: "In the past, widespread testing has lead many men to be over-treated with surgery or radiation therapy and to suffer the side effects of such treatments, including urinary dysfunction, bowel dysfunction, and erectile dysfunction. Men with both prostate cancer and another disease, such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes are much more likely to die from the other disease than they are to die from a slow growing prostate tumor. " This study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute comes just months after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends ending routine PSA testing for healthy men age 50 and older because of concerns that the test often leads to invasive biopsies and aggressive treatments and does not save lives. SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, January 2012 As there is considerable evidence that making changes to your diet and taking supplements will substantially alter your bodies ability to resist disease, including cancer, that is the route I recommend and you do not need to have a biopsy for that. If you are not already taking my total health supplement, you may wish to consider doing so. If you buy three bottles of my total health, you will also receive a free copy of my guide "all about the prostate" which normally sells for $49 including shipping. https://www.bensprostate.com/total-health Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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