Originally Posted by
John_V
I think the problem here is more with the patient than with the doctor. I was in the medical profession for 25 years and I can tell you that many patients are too quick to listen to what the doctor tells them and do no research or bother to get a second (or more) opinion. There are too many urologist that are quick to start cancer treatments "just in case" and too many patients that are not informed enough to stop them until they know all the facts. I must agree that there are urologist that recommend brachytherapy with a very low Gleason score just to be on the safe side and avoid litigation if they don't suggest it and something happens, but the patient has his responsibility to be informed and make the final decision. Many men have an "out of mind" approach to prostate cancer. If they don't think about it or if they don't know what their PSA and/or PSA Velocity is, they won't get prostate cancer. I think that many of us who have been there and done that have a much different opinion to this pre-screening findings which more often than none leans toward those that do the financing.
As a layman I am not sure I follow this argument.
What follows the bolded sentence seems to say patients get lousy advice from their doctors so they need to figure out what it all means for themselves. So why not let us get test kits and mail the results back? We can then go on the Internet and figure out our own response. I admit that is a bit of a snarky response but I think your description leads to the conclusion that the medical establishment as a whole is more the culprit than the patients. If we rely on laymen (who are as likely to believe in crystals as science) to figure this stuff out we are in deep trouble.
For those of us who are willing to get more involved I guess the answer is something along the lines of "Take the test but if the results may call for action get yourself educated and get a few opinions. If all the opinions call for treatment get treatment. If the opinions are mixed, do more self education and proceed slowly." If that is the answer I guess I can live with it. But I don't like paying so much for it.