Article: New technology, over-treatment (it ain't just a prostate cancer issue), and PCORI

I find that The “New” Prostate Cancer InfoLink web site is one of the most informative , most balanced , and effectively communicated sources of information about all things related to Prostate Cancer, frequently taking very complex situations and reducing it to a clear, concise layman’s message.   I have steered many people to it as a “recommended daily reading” site.   The sitemaster monitors medical publications, attends PC scientific functions, and sometimes contacts authors or sources to clarify points before crafting and posting summaries (with links).   The information is all online and free. I have no association with the InfoLink site, but I would, once again, highly recommend it as a “daily reading” site for those who are interested in providing informed and insightful commentary about PC. Additionally, if you have a topic of interest which arises, the Search function is extremely useful.     Today’s article, titled “New technology, over-treatment (it ain’t just a prostate cancer issue), and PCORI” is a very informative read if you are interested in the big picture …which is something I’ve posted about several times.   There are no real “answers” to the problem in this article, but it helps serve to wake people up and give insight to the fact that there is a major problem…actually, it touches upon numerous problems which all contribute to the net of the unsustainable trajectory we are on.     For those interested in providing meaningful PC commentary, I recommend making the InfoLink site a part of their daily routine before opening the HW/PC site.   I’m not just talking about today’s article, which is very insightful, but in general the quality of HW dialogue, support and information would take a (much needed) step-function improvement if informative sites like the InfoLink were used as "pre-read"…     Post Edited (Casey59) : 2/20/2013 8:27:26 AM (GMT-7)

You are welcome! 

I am all for reducing as much as possible cases of overtreatment of PC (and other diseases), but I do worry that the pendulum might be swinging too far in the other direction. Yes, there are undoubtedly many cases of PC overtreatment every year, with concomitant unnecessary suffering from treatment and its side effects, but it is also true that there are at least 30,000 undeniable cases of UNDERTREATMENT of PC each year, those being the poor souls whose disease was not detected early enough for it not to kill them. With the move toward dispensing with general PSA testing and the widespread publicity that testing is in fact harmful, I just can't see how that number can do anything but rise, at least until the magic bullet to cure advanced PC is discovered.