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Panel says ‘no’ to prostate cancer screening
Published 4:02pm Monday, August 6, 2012I do understand the need for common sense regarding burgeoning increases in medical expenses in this country. I also appreciate the value of a quality-filled life. The costs associated with PSA testing for men, even with a higher than acceptable rate of false positives and calls for more invasive testing, particularly for younger men such as I was, makes a great deal of sense.
Additionally, technology and medicine are improving daily, and new advances in testing are being developed to improve testing and increase accuracy of their results. The government is not the authority I want making decisions concerning my health, testing or my treatment. I want those decisions to be between me and my doctors, and I want my diagnoses to occur earlier, not later.
Watching the government continue to further encroach upon the relationships we Americans have with our personal physicians, particularly regarding tests that could for many of us mean the difference between life and death, is more than a little frightening. There are better ways to control medical costs than to allow the government with its bureaucratic ineptitude to come between the individual and his or her healthcare provider. For those who share that belief, let’s hope the Supreme Court rules in our favor.
Ron Kauffman is a consultant and expert on issues of geriatrics and aging in private practice in Henderson and Polk Counties. He is the author of “Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease,” available at the Polk County Senior Center. His podcasts can be heard weekly at www.seniorlifestyles.net. Contact him at 828-696-9799 or by email at: drron561@gmail.com.
