Countering "Fake News"...How??

[baw1955]

What can I/we do to provide objective feedback to mainstream media (if Consumer Reports, AARP Magazine, etc. qualify as mainstream) regarding the value of PSA testing and biopsies? Example, in the March 2019 issue of Consumer Reports there is a rebuttal by the CR Editor to readers' claims (Urologist an cancer survivor) which quotes a US Preventive Services Task Force report stating "facts" which states, among other conclusions, "...research shows that for every 1,000 men ages 55 to 69 who have the test every one to four years, zero to one death will be prevented." I don't know if this is a statistically valid conclusion, yet anecdotally from the participants in these prostate cancer communities -- we represent many of these "zero to one" deaths which were prevented. I would like to become more publicly active in educating the world at-large and counteract claims which would prevent saving lives.

[baw1955]

I have now just found a post by dentaltwin who cited "a 2011 decision by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to stop recommending routine testing of men using the PSA blood test." So, in my recent post today (Feb 7), I am also referring to a 2011 report? I'm at a loss to understand this "test or not test" for prostate cancer using PSA.

[Tall_Allen in reply to baw1955]

The USPSTF changed their recommendation last year. It is now in line with the AUA.

uspreventiveservicestaskfor...

[Hidden]

I do not have any easy answers but I do have a strong desire to be part of this education movement. My little part has been to start a men's support group in my state because there were NO support groups at the time I got my diagnosis. I felt and was lost. We have been meeting monthly since November, a stable number of about six but a different six each time. It is early days yet but it is past time to shine a light on CaP and make it something we TALK about rather than whisper.

[MarkBarnes]

I am not an expert, but I 100% agreement. Of the 4 men in my family or immediate circle of friends, ALL 4 of us had our PC found with PSA, or at least the PSA was the precipitating event for a biopsy. 3 of the 4 of us had treatment based on the biopsy. So far all of us are fine (I'm only at month 2, but am optimistic). Could anyone really say that if you were 1 of the 3 of us, that you would simply ignore the PSA for whatever period of time (months, years?) and wait for something else (symptoms?) to make you act on your cancer.

My conclusions is that PSA should be done and acted upon.

[Magnus1964]

I had this conversation with my Uro. The insurance companies didn't want to pay for all those tests. Now the statistics show they are paying more for advanced Pca. Write AARP and tell them they need to retract the article.

[lillyofthevalley37]

Ben Stiller and Stephen Fry both discovered their prostate cancer initially through psa

[michael42301 in reply to lillyofthevalley37]

It's nice to have something in common with Stephen Fry. Other than drollery. We're both droll.

[407ca]

Probably 99.9 percent of us here discovered our PCA due to a PSA test, including myself. With that being said, I do not disagree with making PSA testing less aggressively administered. I suspect someone applied Beyes' theorem to get the 0-1 lives saved per thousand tested, in order to curb overtreatment.

All the best.

[baw1955 in reply to 407ca]

As an engineer and amateur statistician, I would like to intellectually recognize the position you have taken regarding de-emphasizing PSA testing. Explain what you mean by "PSA testing less aggressively administered". Seems like the testing is low-cost, usually performed during annual physicals. It's the treatment decision that follows which can be difficult/controversial, right? Now, I will google Beyes' theorem!

[tom67inMA]

A couple of anecdotal data points: IIRC my dad had a PSA around 11 but his biopsy came back negative and he never developed prostate cancer. My routine PSA test at age 49 was 2 in 2017. Thirteen months after that I was symptomatic, with a PSA of 216 and metastases to bones. PSA has been useful for tracking response to treatment, but couldn't be more useless for early detection in my family.

[baw1955]

How were you diagnosed? Beyond DRE and PSA-screening, do urologists or other physicians use routinely other detection methods for PCa? Also, need to update the acronym list on this site .... is IIRC = image and identity research collective?