The PSA test for prostate cancer screening has come under fire. First of all, it’s not very specific – meaning there is an unacceptable false positive rate (i.e. positive test in the absence of disease) for prostate cancer. This leads to biopsies and surgery that may not be needed.
The implications of this is becoming more widely publicized. Men are starting the realize the downsides of treatment, and understanding that more medicine isn’t necessarily better.
Tara Parker-Pope writes about a study where one in five men regretted undergoing prostate surgery. This suggests that the risks and complications of the treatment course were not fully understood by the patients.
