The PSA test is a big mistake – so says the doctor who invented the test in a NY Times Op-Ed. The test was never intended as a screening test, but rather as a monitoring tool for men who already had diagnosed cancer.
PSA test only finds less than 3% of cases – but even then no treatmemt is the best option for most men. Prostate cancer on average is 20 years from diagnosis until it might kill you – by which time you will have died from something else. Of 47 men treated, 46 will have no benefit and will most likely become incontinent and impotent – and 1 will live longer. There is not a clearer case of overtreatment being pushed by drug comanies and doctors. And that’s from the guy who invented the test.
