Dr. Weeks’ Comment: In the spirit of “First do no harm” now the ACS is recognizing that the screening they have promoted forever is not helpful and actually causing …… yes…. harm.
–
Excerpt…
The American Cancer Society, which has long been a staunch defender of most cancer screening, is now saying that the benefits of detecting many cancers, especially breast and prostate, have been overstated…..
“The issue here is, as we look at cancer medicine over the last 35 or 40 years, we have always worked to treat cancer or to find cancer early,” Dr. Brawley said. “And we never sat back and actually thought, ”˜Are we treating the cancers that need to be treated?’ ” …..
The very idea that some cancers are not dangerous and some might actually go away on their own can be hard to swallow, researchers say…..
“Someone may say, ”˜I don’t want to be screened’ ” she said. “Another person may say, ”˜Of course I want to be screened.’ Just like everything in medicine, there is no free lunch. For every intervention, there are complications and problems.”….
–
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/health/21cancer.html?_r=1&em