THE PONCHATOULA TIMES, APRIL 29, 2010, PAGE B-4
Are we over-diagnosing
cancer?
By DR. RANDOLPH HOWES M.D., PhD
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Longtime medical columnist for The Ponchatoula Times, the
author is an accomplished surgeon, medical inventor, and Country music recording
artist. Dr. Howes grew up on his parents' Ponchatoula strawberry farm. He is a
graduate of St. Joseph, Ponchatoula High School, Tulane - two doctorates, followed
by a residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in plastic surgery. He says he is "re-
tired" now in Kentwood.)
After all of these years of teaching patients to be on the alert for
signs of cancer, some so-called experts are saying that we may be
over-diagnosing cancers of the breast and the prostate.
With so much contradic-
tory and confusing information
out there, it is no wonder that
most people just throw up their
hands and go on trying to live
a reasonably happy life the way
they've always done.
It is often hard to discern
from what we see and hear in
the medical media which course
of action we should take in deal-
ing with cancer. We hear so
much contradictory advice from
scientists and so-called experts
that it is hard to know what to
believe. And as scientists learn
more about cancer, their advice
.,.and don't foct,
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Dr. Howes
changes. A change in advise
could be understandable but a
total about-face is hard to ac-
cept.
Now, experts suggest that,
"Doctors need to address the
problem of over-diagnosis in
cancer care -- the detection and
possible treatment of tumors
that may never cause symp-
toms or lead to death."
They say that we may be over-
diagnosing about 25 percent of
breast cancers found through
mammograms and about 60
percent of prostate cancers de-
tected through prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) tests.
Of even more concern, they
claim that we may be over-
diagnosing about half of lung
cancers detected through some
screening tests. Please remem-
ber that the number of new
cases of cancer (i.e., thyroid,
prostate, breast, kidney and
melanoma) has gone up over
the past 30 years, but the death
rate has not. It appears that
more screening tests are re-
sponsible for the increased di-
agnosis rate.
Dr. H. Gilbert Welch and Dr.
William Black wrote in a news
release from the U.S. National
Cancer Institute that, "Where-
as early detection may well help
some, it undoubtedly hurts oth-
ers. Often the decision about
whether or not to pursue early
cancer detection involves a deli-
cate balance between benefits
and harms . . . different indi-
viduals, even in the same situ-
ation, might reasonably make
different choices."
In my opinion, that did not
clear up a thing. Confusion
reigns.
In the America that I love,
organized medicine should try
to stop sending conflicting and
unclear messages to the public.
Citizens hold medical practice
in a place of respect but befud-
dling reports will erode their
confidence. It makes it appear
as though no one in the medical
community has a clear picture
of screening tests, diagnosis
and treatment, especially as it
relates to common forms of can-
cer, which is not the case.
If confused, consult your doc-
tor and do not be afraid to ask
lots of questions. Make no mis-
take about it, all forms of can-
cer are potentially serious, and
possibly deadly. Early detection
is extremely important.
American Life in
Poetry
By TED KOOSER
U.S. Poet Laureate, 2004-
2006
The great American poet William
Carlos Williams taught us that if a
poem can capture a moment in life, and
bathe it in the light of the poet's close at-
tention, and make it feel fresh and new,
that's enough, that's adequate, that's
good. Here is a poem like that by Rachel
Contreni Flynn, who lives in Illinois
y
The Yellow BoWl"
By RACHEL CONTRENI
FLYNN
If light pours like water
into the kitchen where I sway
with my tired children,
if the rug beneath us
is woven with tough flowers,
and the yellow bowl on the
table
rests with the sweet heft
of fruit, the sun-warmed
plums,
if my body curves over the
babies,
and if I am singing,
then loneliness has lost its
shape,
and this quiet is only quiet.
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Sampling of Auction Items
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