Off Topic - It's A Guy Thing But A Serious Guy Thing

Dear All;

While off topic this is something which
transcends posting protocols because
of the nature of the medical problem
potential. A recently released medical
study now says PSA - the prostate test
for antigens which could be a precursor
to prostate cancer is not all that it is cracked
up to be.

The medical study covered some 250,000
men over some 10 years in both the US
and Europe and the conclusion in a nutshell
is the following:

"Suppose he has a PSA test today. It leads
to a biopsy that reveals he has prostate
cancer, and he is treated for it. There is
a one in 50 chance that, in 2019 or later,
he will be spared death from a cancer
that would otherwise have killed him.
And there is a 49 in 50 chance that he
will have been treated unnecessarily
for a cancer that was never a threat to his life."'

In other words, if you have the PSA test
as it stands right now the test can be a false
positive or a false negative you can have
the biopsy and the surgery but it wouldn't
have made any difference in your longevity
but it will make a differnece in your life
style from side effects of the surgery.

Obvioulsy this is not something you should
decide on your own but have a very well
informed discussion with your doctor and
other urological experts as well before
deciding to have the usrgery or any other
treatment such as radiation or hormone theraphy.

The article is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/health/19cancer.html?_r=1&ref=health

http://snipurl.com/e5xup [www_nytimes_com]

This is another copy of the story with additional reporting
in the SF Chronicle as reprinted from the Washington Post.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/MN0316IQ3T.DTL

http://snipurl.com/e5yb9 [www_sfgate_com]

Ron Getty - SF Libertarian
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