One simply assumes that the most basic of the medical processes – the very first step that anyone normally takes has to be a good step. One would simply assume that the early screening that one does would be an important reventive tool. However, the results of two large studies which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, argue otherwise. The two studies are telling us that that the early screening process had absolutely no effect on how many men die from prostate cancer. To add insult to injury, the studies found that more men end up getting tests and treatments they actually don’t need. By this screening process, they end up taking treatments which actually increase the risk of side effects such as incontinence and impotence.
Looks like we simply have to decide where all we need to screen out the screening itself!