It may be hard to understand, but in
cancer cases, the treatment can sometimes be worse than the disease itself. The
possible outcomes should be considered in cases where diagnosis leads to
unnecessary treatment.
Many cancer treatments come with serious side effects to patients because treatments, such as chemotherapy, which are toxic to cancer cells, also can affect normal cells which leads to side effects and sickness. Some damage from chemotherapy might be permanent, thus, doctors must be sure diagnosis decisions avert treatment that the patient may not need in the first place.
Overdiagnosis mainly occurs as a result of screening tests done by a doctor to be able to detect diseases early. Early detection is a great thing as it enables early intervention and treatment which could lead to cancer remedy. Unfortunately, cancer screenings regularly find tumors that are clinically of no consequence. If that discovery leads to unneeded treatments, it is not difficult to understand how the treatment can be worse than living with the ailment.
One common example of overdiagnosis resulting in treatment is prostate cancer. The prostate-specific antigen test is frequently elevated in older men. Those results can lead to over radiation therapy or aggressive surgery, which expose the individual to possible unwanted side effects like incontinence and impotency. Autopsies of males who died from conditions besides cancer have found that prostate cancer is extremely common particularly as men age. However, developing the cancer in the form that's deadly is rare.
Hypertension is just another common malady which could result in overtreatment. A recent study in The BMJ noted that about 40% of adults worldwide have hypertension with more than half of those having a mild form of the disease that is low risk and has not progressed to cardiovascular disease. The study also found that more than half of the patients with mild hypertension are treated with medications despite the lack of medical evidence that this treatment actually reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Many cancer treatments come with serious side effects to patients because treatments, such as chemotherapy, which are toxic to cancer cells, also can affect normal cells which leads to side effects and sickness. Some damage from chemotherapy might be permanent, thus, doctors must be sure diagnosis decisions avert treatment that the patient may not need in the first place.
Overdiagnosis mainly occurs as a result of screening tests done by a doctor to be able to detect diseases early. Early detection is a great thing as it enables early intervention and treatment which could lead to cancer remedy. Unfortunately, cancer screenings regularly find tumors that are clinically of no consequence. If that discovery leads to unneeded treatments, it is not difficult to understand how the treatment can be worse than living with the ailment.
One common example of overdiagnosis resulting in treatment is prostate cancer. The prostate-specific antigen test is frequently elevated in older men. Those results can lead to over radiation therapy or aggressive surgery, which expose the individual to possible unwanted side effects like incontinence and impotency. Autopsies of males who died from conditions besides cancer have found that prostate cancer is extremely common particularly as men age. However, developing the cancer in the form that's deadly is rare.
Hypertension is just another common malady which could result in overtreatment. A recent study in The BMJ noted that about 40% of adults worldwide have hypertension with more than half of those having a mild form of the disease that is low risk and has not progressed to cardiovascular disease. The study also found that more than half of the patients with mild hypertension are treated with medications despite the lack of medical evidence that this treatment actually reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Screening evaluations are essential to educating medical diagnosis, however, there are limits to testing. Doctors must ensure that treatments are specific to each patient and disease as much as possible. Contact us to share a story about overdiagnosis or overtreatment.
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