When the mainstream medical community began pushing the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test more than 20 years ago, they had absolutely no proof that the test was beneficial – or even safe, for that matter. But that never stopped them from hailing it as a godsend and announcing to every man in American that having a yearly PSA was the only way to protect against prostate cancer.
And the money came rolling in…
It was a good little scam, but the gig is almost up… especially if reports like the one just published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute continue popping up.
Dutch and Swedish researchers found that even though more frequent screening increased the number of tumors detected, it failed to reduce the number of AGGRESSIVE TUMORS that appeared between screenings.
Researchers followed two groups of men between the ages of 55 and 65 years old for 10 years. The first group (4,000 men) was tested every two years, and the second group (13,000 men) was tested every four years. As you would imagine, more tumors were found among the group that was tested more frequently – 13 percent versus 8 percent.
But here’s the catch: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups of men in the number of aggressive tumors that formed between screenings. The researchers said, “More screening did not cut the number of these cancer cases as one might have expected.”
That’s been my point all along. As we age, it’s perfectly normal to develop small tumors in our prostates. I
t’s when you start messing with them that you stir up a hornet’s nest. But it’s the AGGRESSIVE TUMORS that’ll kill you – whether you get a routine PSA or not.
The lead researcher of the study, Monique Roobol, said, “We here in Europe feel that over-diagnosis and over-treatment is certainly something you should avoid.” That’s a not-so-subtle and all-too-deserved slap in the face to the medical community on this side of the pond. And, as you know, I couldn’t agree more.
William Campbell Douglass I.I., M.D. has been called "the conscience of modern medicine."
You can sign up for his "Daily Dose" at DouglassReport.com.
Latest posts by Dr. William Campbell Douglass (see all)
- Federal Fling Triggers Massive Meat Recall - June 13, 2014
- Dutch scientists tell Uncle Sam to pound salt - May 20, 2014
- Zap Your Chicken… and It’s Still Not Safe - January 18, 2013
