A few years ago I listened to an interview with the scientist who discovered the prostate antigen associated with prostate cancer, who then helped to develop the PSA test widely given to men to determine if they were at risk for this cancer. He's become vocal about this test being wrongly used by the medical system today because it produces so many false positives and he believes mostly doesn't do any good.
I live in Denmark & since I reached 50 yo this year I just got a "colon cancer screening test" (test for "signs of blood" in the stool) in the mail. They apparently send this to all citizens between 50 & 74 yo... I take it that this screening test is as ridiculous as the rest of them?
Yes, it is a waste of time. The only one for down there that might actually be more helpful than not is the sigmoidoscopy - which almost no-one does anyway!
thank you for the research. I did not start a family until in my 30, so I was offered these tests due to my age. I remember refusing for my singletons, but might have done it when I had twins.
I would love to know more on mammograms. The Dr keeps telling me to get one, and I keep "forgetting."
I haven’t done a deep dive into mammograms but everything I hear makes my alarm bells ring like crazy. It’s radiation, and from what I’ve heard, misses actual “cases of breast cancer” an awful lot, while possibly contributing to it due to radiation. I can’t give you medical advice though; anything I say is purely speculative.
I was offered amniocentesis when pregnant with my first child (over 25 years ago) simply because I was 34, and would just have turned 35 before the baby's due date. I was in superb health and so was the baby. I found out that the risk of serious birth defects was vanishingly small even for the first child of a 35-year-old mother; the highest risk by far was for Down Syndrome, and that was 1%; the risk of *any* serious birth defect, including things like cleft lip, was still around 1%. The major reason to test was just for Downs, to offer the parents the option to abort the baby! Which I told the doctor I wouldn't consider. I asked what risk the test itself posed. Answer: the risk of miscarriage caused by the procedure was ALSO 1%; the risk of other complications was a bit higher. So basically, each mother was being asked to risk her baby's life just to find out if the baby had Downs, so she could decide whether to kill that baby. This was considered "prenatal care." 🤦🏻♀️ (By the way, my doctor and midwife were great; my State required that amnio be offered.) I refused the test. My baby was just fine, Apgar 10, and the next baby was fine, too. Whatever baby you get, YOU LOVE THAT BABY. It's a precious soul, not a manufactured item, for heaven's sake!
I have three sons. I skipped the test with my second pregnancy. My third pregnancy i received a call from the nurse when I was four 1/2 months pregnant that my test came back positive of Down syndrome. She stated matter of fact that I could schedule an abortion or an amniocentesis to see if the baby was normal. I declined both and she said at the minimum I should have a 3-D ultrasound done to check the heart chambers. I did have that done and the heart was fine. It was stressful and definitely took the joy of my pregnancy. My son was born healthy with no issues. I have heard so many women have had this happen after my experience. It’s sad it should be talked about more. Thank you for writing about it.
Kerri, mammograms are themselves a risk factor for breast cancer due to the radiation (claimed to be low dose) involved. Regular mammograms only multiply that risk. My patients obtain thermography instead, as there is zero risk. Further, thermogramography can detect cancer up to seven years before a mammogram will see it.
A few years ago I listened to an interview with the scientist who discovered the prostate antigen associated with prostate cancer, who then helped to develop the PSA test widely given to men to determine if they were at risk for this cancer. He's become vocal about this test being wrongly used by the medical system today because it produces so many false positives and he believes mostly doesn't do any good.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/828854
Most of these “screening tests” are fully ridiculous. Who needs blood work every six months?
I live in Denmark & since I reached 50 yo this year I just got a "colon cancer screening test" (test for "signs of blood" in the stool) in the mail. They apparently send this to all citizens between 50 & 74 yo... I take it that this screening test is as ridiculous as the rest of them?
Yes, it is a waste of time. The only one for down there that might actually be more helpful than not is the sigmoidoscopy - which almost no-one does anyway!
https://robynchuter.substack.com/p/major-study-finds-that-cancer-screening?publication_id=298162&post_id=138205647&isFreemail=true&r=1gqdr4
Thank you for the very informative link. The test is now screening the inside of my bin! ;)
thank you for the research. I did not start a family until in my 30, so I was offered these tests due to my age. I remember refusing for my singletons, but might have done it when I had twins.
I would love to know more on mammograms. The Dr keeps telling me to get one, and I keep "forgetting."
I haven’t done a deep dive into mammograms but everything I hear makes my alarm bells ring like crazy. It’s radiation, and from what I’ve heard, misses actual “cases of breast cancer” an awful lot, while possibly contributing to it due to radiation. I can’t give you medical advice though; anything I say is purely speculative.
https://empowertotalhealth.com.au/new-study-on-screening-mammography-shows-more-harms-than-benefits/
Mostly, screening tests are a waste of time, or in some cases, like with mammograms, they CAN have more harm than benefit.
Hey Rebecca, this story showed up in my twitter feed.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brca-mutation-after-cancer-preventative-surgeries-women-learn-genetic-test-may-have-been-wrong/
This is crazy. This woman had pre-emptive surgeries to remove major parts of her body based on genetic tests that turned out to be basically wrong.
Thank you, I hadn’t seen that before. I’ll definitely look into this.
The craziest part of this is that at the end of the news report, they STILL RECOMMEND that women get these tests. Mind blown.
I was offered amniocentesis when pregnant with my first child (over 25 years ago) simply because I was 34, and would just have turned 35 before the baby's due date. I was in superb health and so was the baby. I found out that the risk of serious birth defects was vanishingly small even for the first child of a 35-year-old mother; the highest risk by far was for Down Syndrome, and that was 1%; the risk of *any* serious birth defect, including things like cleft lip, was still around 1%. The major reason to test was just for Downs, to offer the parents the option to abort the baby! Which I told the doctor I wouldn't consider. I asked what risk the test itself posed. Answer: the risk of miscarriage caused by the procedure was ALSO 1%; the risk of other complications was a bit higher. So basically, each mother was being asked to risk her baby's life just to find out if the baby had Downs, so she could decide whether to kill that baby. This was considered "prenatal care." 🤦🏻♀️ (By the way, my doctor and midwife were great; my State required that amnio be offered.) I refused the test. My baby was just fine, Apgar 10, and the next baby was fine, too. Whatever baby you get, YOU LOVE THAT BABY. It's a precious soul, not a manufactured item, for heaven's sake!
I have three sons. I skipped the test with my second pregnancy. My third pregnancy i received a call from the nurse when I was four 1/2 months pregnant that my test came back positive of Down syndrome. She stated matter of fact that I could schedule an abortion or an amniocentesis to see if the baby was normal. I declined both and she said at the minimum I should have a 3-D ultrasound done to check the heart chambers. I did have that done and the heart was fine. It was stressful and definitely took the joy of my pregnancy. My son was born healthy with no issues. I have heard so many women have had this happen after my experience. It’s sad it should be talked about more. Thank you for writing about it.
You can imagine the anxiety and the stress the mother goes through only for the test to be false
Kerri, mammograms are themselves a risk factor for breast cancer due to the radiation (claimed to be low dose) involved. Regular mammograms only multiply that risk. My patients obtain thermography instead, as there is zero risk. Further, thermogramography can detect cancer up to seven years before a mammogram will see it.