I think I got this whole "OD" thing figured out

TC-LasVegas said...
Doug,
I hear ya on that. But this forum has to walk down the ACA discussion like we're on egg shells. It is a highly political discussion. But it will be more discussed in the future. For right now we don't have ACA in place.

Tony

Yes. We are in agreement on that point. I hesitate to say too much about ACA for that very reason, but it's something that can definitely have an impact on our particular area of interest here. I have no problem tabling that discussion for another time. I've seen major donnybrooks over that issue on other forums.

davidg said...
Tony - Women did not take the crap the USPSTS unleashed on them as lightly as men did with their horrible recommendations vis-a-vis PCa screening.

If men were half as vocal about PCa as women are about breast cancer the USPSTS would have been ridiculed and the AUA not inclined to compromise their own previous positions.

That's what it takes. Until the patient base gets riled enough, or their numbers grow large enough, it's easy to take them less seriously.

I suspect our conversations about many things here would be much different if women suffered from PCa. (no offense meant to the ladies, just acknowledging political reality)

DavidG,
Maybe we could be louder about the USPSTF, but I doubt it would have any impact. Right now PSA screening is on the rise not decline. The USPSTF statement, like I said earlier, is not really affecting men in the way of reduced screening.

But to your point...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hvr5FbpgmM

Get talking ladies!

Tony

Runner lady said...

Instead of cutting costs by not testing (if that is their,oal), I think they should focus on reducing more routine high medical costs, like child birth. How is it that childbirth in the US is so much more expensive than any other country?

Historically, it's been the liability issues that drive those costs. Malpractice insurance for OB-GYNs is insane, as it is for Anesthesiologists and Neurosurgeons.

Your kid's not perfect? Sue the doc that did the delivery. It's the American way. (but I digress)

Doug, you are correct in that OB/GYNs pay the highest medical malpractice insurance. I asked my OB/GYN what he paid each year...and this was 7 years ago. His answer: $100,000 a year.

TC-LasVegas said...


Get talking ladies!

Tony

You've seen that I am not shy about talking about it.

Ladies are loud and proud about their bodies, and we're equally as loud and proud about our men!

Interestingly enough, when you shared that on facebook and I shared it as well, I found out that one of my classmate's husband had "prostrate" cancer. Naturally, I took it to private message with her as I figured I had found something else in common with one of my old friends.

It was beyond disheartening when she proceeded to tell me that her husband was diagnosed Stage V with a gleason score of 12. She was just so glad they "got it out" and he was cured, but hates the awful side effects.

Through gentle prying, I learned that he was a 3+3 after surgery.

Needless to say, I was thinking they really didn't do their research. They just rushed to "get it out!"

On all other fronts, I would say that my friend is a highly informed person. She is also an academically educated person. But for "prostrate" cancer, fear ruled the day for them. The urologist who did the biopsy also did the surgery and they were so thankful that he handled it immediately and didn't send them to MD Anderson like Mr.WW's urologist did.

Those are the types of cases that I worry about.

6+6 ?