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Recent Articles
Repeat After Me: Early Detection Via Screening Does Not Equal Prevention
Kevin Sack of the New York Times's otherwise informative article on how the "Screening Debate Reveals Culture Clash in Medicine" concludes on a clunker of a note. After exploring the debate over the efficacy of mammography and cervical cancer screening, he concludes with a "kicker quote" (journalistic parlance for the last word, which usually reveals what the reporter is thinking) from Rutgers University's Louis Russell, who is renowned for arguing (falsely at times in my view) that prevention doesn't save money.
Guess what? Screening isn't prevention. Screening is early detection. There's a big difference. Catching cancer early isn't the same thing as preventing cancer. Stopping smoking is prevention. Giving annual x-rays to smokers in hopes of catching lung cancer when it's treatable is early detection. Not taking hormone pills after menopause is prevention of breast cancer. Mammography is early detection. It does nothing to prevent the disease.
Get it?
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Comments
I posted that message
I posted that message everywhere these past few weeks. People are outraged that the method they have thrown everything into, isn't what it was cracked up to be.
So who do they blame? The messenger, of course.
We need to get real - focus on true prevention - part of which already exists. Eat fruits and vegetables, take a walk or run, swim, bike, etc, and learn to destress daily. Rid your home and body of chemicals with artificial ingredients that harm. Stop drinking soda or eating JUNK food. Cut out most of the sugar. STOP SMOKING. Then your cancer risk will be reduced.
Worth a try. www.annieappleseedproject.org
True, early detection does
True, early detection does not equal primary prevention; it does equal secondary prevention. It prevents progression of disease that has already occurred biologically but has not become clinically evident.