Arguably the most essential and indispensable aspect of life is the attainment and preservation of good health. Individuals with health-related complications are often prevented from leading what many would consider to be a normal lifestyle. One of the several ailments that impedes typical human functioning is prostate cancer. The community of experts and professionals who have dedicated their lives to this field of study are, at this time, engaged in a substantive yet divisive and strongly opinionated dispute regarding a test considered by some to aid in the detection of this cancer. This highly scrutinized test is known as the prostate-specific antigen test, more commonly referred to as the PSA test. In the United States and more broadly the world today, the prostate-specific antigen test yields little or no positive results while having the potential to generate damage and destruction and, therefore, should not be administered on a regular basis as a means of detecting this form of malignancy.
Cancer of the prostate has retained its place as the leading source of cancer apart from the melanomas and carcinomas of the skin. In addition, this disease is the second leading killer among men in the United States that pass away due to cancer.1(p164) What then is the reason for such a polarized dialogue concerning a simple diagnostic tool that is relatively painless and noninvasive? The discussion on this issue, although simmering throughout the scientific and medical fraternity for a lengthy period of time, was in fact brought to a boil and to the forefront of the news in October of 2011 when a group known as the United States Preventative Services Task Force released their findings on the issue. The USPSTF report, considered to be...
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...versy reignites ‘over-screening’ debate. PBS News Hour Website. 2011. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/10/psa-testing-controversy-reignites-over-screening-debate.html Accessed March 13, 2012.
4. Parker-Pope T. Prostate cancer screening shows no benefit. New York Times Online. 2012. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/embargoed-no-benefit-from-prostate-cancer-screening/ Accessed March 13, 2012.
5. Cauley DH. Chapter 150. Prostate Cancer. In: Schwinghammer TL, Koehler JM, eds. Pharmacotherapy Casebook: A Patient-Focused Approach. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2011. http://www.accesspharmacy.com/content.aspx?aID=55624057. Accessed March 13, 2012.
6. Allan GM, Chetner M, Venner P, et al. Furthering the prostate cancer screening debate (prostate cancer specific mortality and associated risks). Can Urol Assoc J. 2011; 5(6):416-421. DOI: 10.5489/cuaj.11063
Redd, W. H., & Andrykowski, M. A. (1982). Behavioral interventions in cancer treatment: Controlling adverse reactions to chemotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1018-1029.
As the author highlighted in this book, the quickest way to be diagnosed for prostate cancer is to be screened for it; the same notion applies for many other diseases and illness. With the advent of the technological age, doctors are now able to see more than they did before, and therefore, are more quick to diagnose illnesses and cancers early. As Welch explains, the problem with that is that not all illness or cancers will kill you; some cancers will stick around, but never cause any harm. So, this leads to screening for cancers that were never going to kill a patient, that end up being detected early on and dealt with, thus giving credit to early screening as a success story. As Welch explains, most illnesses and injuries that undertake a natural course of events, without medical intervention, usually heal on their own. This is problematic because it creates this idea that medical intervention is helpful and necessary, when that is not always the case. In general, as a society, the benefits of medical care have been over-exaggerated, while the harms of medical care have been largely ignored. If Welchs’ instructions were followed, a closer examination of the effect of screenings and tests would be the new medical
The bad and good of PPAC or commonly known as ACA. What is ACA? PPACA or ACA for acronyms, PPACA represents Patient Protection Affordable Care Act finalized with impact of the law to Affordable Care Act. For once, both acronyms did not reflect a word for health or a word for healthcare. How then ACA becomes the law for healthcare coverage? Well, to gain the support of the Senate, the ACA is presented to the people, as an individual benefit for equal health provision for equal coverage is the mandate for healthcare insurance as pledge to close the disparity of the type of health service received by the poor.
Psycopharmacology Tips by Dr. Bob. Robert Hsuing, M.D. May 1999. 7 Aug. 2000 <a href="http://www.uhs.bsd.uchicago.edu/~bhsuing/tips/tips.html">http://www.uhs.bsd.uchicago.edu/~bhsuing/tips/tips.html
of decisions can and cannot be made on the basis of test data, and how should those decisions be made? What credentials, if any, are necessary to administer and interpret psychological tests? What rights do examinees undergoing psychological evaluation have? Public scrutiny of psychological testing reached its zenith in 1965 with a series of probing and unprecedented congressional hearings (see Amrine, 1965). Against a backdrop of mounting public concern about—as well as legal challenges to—psychological testing, many psychologists in the 1960s began to look anew at the testing enterprise. Beyond being a mere instrument of measurement, a psychological test was conceptualized by many as a tool of a highly trained examiner. The value of a particular
While both cancer treatment and chemoprevention trials involve agents that can cause side effects in individuals, chemoprevention trials diverge from treatment trials with respect to the unit of potential benefit. In trials of cancer treatment or of “adjuvant therapies” (secondary prevention), subjects either hav...
However, at the center of medical practice, the talent of healing should always stay paramount. Bob Sneed is a 68-year-old man with a case of prolonging prostate cancer. Before diagnosis he began to experience the following symptoms: trouble urinating, noticed blood in his urine, and experienced general pain in his lower back, hips and thighs. He also experienced discomfort in his pelvic area. As the fatal disease continued to evolve, he has begun chemotherapy. He has become weak, and he has very small notion to eat. He has been seeing a physician on a current basis. His back pain is now controlled with high-dose of antibiotics, but the antibiotics have caused an increase drop in blood pressure. In addition to seeing the health care provider, he has also been seeing a psychologist to help him to manag...
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer within the United States with tobacco smoking being the biggest risk factor. In 2012, more than 220,000 people were diagnosed with lung cancer and approximately 150,000 died from the disease. “Lung cancer rates in the United States climbed dramatically throughout much of the 20th century, as smoking became more popular, and peaked in the 1980’s before declining in the 1990’s” (Furlow, 2014, p. 298). Screening of high risk people for lung cancer has been extending patients’ lives with early detection with the use of computed tomography (CT).
Within the past thirty years, researchers have found strong evidence linking genes and disease. The development of predictive genetic tests followed shortly after the isolation of certain candidate genes. Although predictive genetic screening is only available for a handful of diseases, its effects and ramifications have become hotly debated issues in a wide range of areas, from government to religion. The debate began in the 1993 when researchers isolated the BRCA1 gene, which is associated with increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. The discovery of this gene led to excitement and speculation of developing a predictive genetic test to identify those women at risk for these cancers. In this paper, I will first describe the biology of genetic testing, and then discuss the pros and cons of predictive genetic testing.
Wardle & Pope (1992) claimed that evaluating the benefits of health screening can be very difficult. This is primarily due to the fact that premature death from chronic diseases, fore example breast and cervical cancer is comparatively rare and consequently very large sam...
Genetic testing is the process of sequencing six billion letters of a human genome to possibly discover genetic differences, such as how cells carry the same genome but at the same time look and function different. Genetic testing is also the process that can give foresight into pathological diseases such as different types of cancer.
... into four different groups. The first group was given 400IU/day vitamin E alone, the second; 200ug/day selenium alone, the third; both and the fourth group; a placebo. The men were monitored over a median of six years. 529 men developed prostate cancer in the placebo group as compared to the 620 men in the vitamin E group who developed the disease. 575 men in the selenium group developed prostate cancer and 555 men in the combination group. The risk of prostate cancer in the United States is currently 16%. The results of the study showed that the risk of prostate cancer increased by 1.6% in men taking the vitamin E supplementation [6].
Genetic testing, also known as screening, is a rapidly advancing new scientific field that can potentially revolutionize not only the world of medicine, but many aspects of our lives. Genetic screening is the sequencing of human DNA in order to discover genetic differences, anomalies, or mutations that may prove pathological. As genetic screening becomes more advanced and easily accessible, it presents society with difficult questions that must be asked about the boundaries of science and to what degree we are allowed to tamper with the human genome. To better understand the potential impact of genetic screening on our society, we must examine the potential benefits in comparison to the possible negative impact it may cause. With this knowledge in hand, we can examine what the future holds for this field of study and the best possible direction to take.
Another test for early detection of prostate cancer has been the digital rectal exam (DRE). Although DRE is a better method for early detection, it is also a hindrance among men, particularly African-American men, to screening and early detection (Plowden, 2009). According to American Cancer Society (ACS) and American Urological Association (AUA), the PSA and DRE should be offered annually for all men beginning at age 50 (Gray, 2009). However, they also recommend that African-American men with a family history of prostate cancer should begin testing by age 45 (Plowden, 2009). However, due to the cultural barriers to prostate screening such as lack of understanding, traditions, mist...
In order for any organization to select the perfect applicant for a job position, the organization provides pre-employment testing/screening. Pre-employment testing is beneficial for the company because it can help the company to reduce cost, decrease turnover and save time. Pre-employment testing that is provided must be valid and fair. (Quast, 2011) In addition to the validity of pre-employment testing/screening an organization must never discriminate a person’s age, gender or disability status. Therefore, more organization are becoming more diverse when it comes to employee selections. However, some ethical issue may arise when an organization decides to change their organization into a more diverse organization.