A new study from the University of Connecticut published in this month's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine states that the elderly population is being more extensively screened for breast, colorectal, prostate, and cervical cancer. The US Preventative Services Task Force, the same organization that recently spoke out decidedly against PSA in the use for prostate cancer screening, currently recommends that those 75 years or over should not be routinely screened for these diseases, and informed use of testing should be employed for this population of patients. Although most medical screening tests are relatively cheap, easy, and accessbile, these factors do not justify using them, unless they overall make a difference in patient quality of life or survival. Any Urologist who has seen an octogenarian for a PSA of 4.6 can attest to that. To decide if a any medical screening test is necessitated should ultimately be determined by an informed physician who has the means to act judiciously, no matter what the result.
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