Men Should Be Wary Of Prostate Cancer Screening At The Age Of 75 And Over

side effects of the tests outweigh the benefits that treatment can provide

An organisation called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force which monitors the benefits and side effects of medical care says that men who are of the age of 75 and over should not go in for prostrate cancer screening as the side effects of the tests actually outweigh the benefits that treatment can provide. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force who have been reviewing the statistical medical data on prostate cancer patients said that men who received treatment for prostate cancer who were 75+ did not live longer than those who did not receive treatment.

They explained that prostate cancer grows very slowly and therefore men who are 75 years old and who have prostate cancer may very well die of something else before the prostate cancer actually begins to cause a medical problem. Since the treatment for cancer of the prostate involves a lot of side effects which include erectile dysfunction, loss of bowel control and general discomfort and pain these factors must be weighed up carefully before treating older men.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force did however stress that the results of their study were purely recommendations and that doctors and patients should work together to examine individual risk factors and other health problems before making a decision about whether to treat the cancer. They also spoke about the fact that the prostate-specific antigen test causes a great deal of psychological worry to old men who in fact at their age would be happier not knowing about their prostate cancer and not having to worry about the side effects of cancer treatment.

The leader of the study who is the chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment explained that they could not find clear proof that the early detection of prostate cancer led to higher survival rates. One of the most depressing things for men who suffer from cancer of the prostate is that they often lose their erectile function. The use of erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have been shown to help men who suffer from impotence after prostate cancer surgery and treatment.