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Recent medical research has demonstrated that preventative
screenings for ovarian cancer do not significantly reduce the risk of death in
women. Instead, frequent and early screenings seem to increase incorrect
diagnoses.
Ovarian cancer is a particularly frightening form of the
disease. It is much rarer than breast cancer, yet much more deadly. According
to estimations by the National Cancer Institute, about 70 percent of women
diagnosed with ovarian cancer will not survive the disease. While medical
testing has helped many, it has also led to healthy people undergoing
unnecessary procedures.
Early detection
techniques fall short
Early detection via traditional screenings is not the only
cancer prevention method available. In a study published in the Journal of
Clinical Oncology, UK researchers evaluated 1,110 women with moderate to high
genetic risk of ovarian cancer. Of the total pool of subjects, only 13
malignancies developed. Ten were successfully caught using ultrasound and serum
CA-125 estimation, two traditional screening methods. The other three
malignancies were not detected until much later.
Dr. Diane Sterling of Western General Hospital, Edinburgh,
reported the traditional testing methods to be “ineffective in detecting tumors
at a sufficiently early stage to influence prognosis.” Simply, the tests were
ineffective. These screening were not only inaccurate, they also elicited
further testing and even unnecessary surgical procedures.
In all, 29 women unnecessarily underwent diagnostic surgery
as a secondary preventative measure. None of the 29 women ended up having
ovarian cancer.
Testing may have ‘poor
predictive ability’
The researchers explained that, due to the poor predictive
ability, both ultrasound and serum estimation failed to meet the accuracy standards
of the World Health Organization. They added that they have a “particularly
high false-positive rate in premenopausal women, leading to unnecessary
surgical intervention.”
A critic of the study said that the research was
“methodologically flawed.” In his review of the study, Dr. Ian Jacobs of
University College said the study’s results may be correct, but the conclusions
cannot be fully judged from the data collected.
An independent panel of 16 experts disagrees. The panel has
been boisterous in opposing unnecessary screenings, but most recently cited a
study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in June of
2011.
The panel noted that about 15 percent of women who received
false-positives from ultrasound testing then suffered from “at least one
serious complication” resulting from further diagnostic testing. The complications listed included blood
clots, surgical injuries and infection.
Is healthcare
actually ‘health care’?
Thanks to recent medical research and health publications,
we now know that there are other factors that influence cancer’s development,
and therefore may be able to mitigate cancer’s effects or prevent the disease
altogether.
Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine at the Dartmouth
Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice says that many aspects of the
current medical model has been “transformed into a high-tech search for early
disease” versus promoting preventative healthcare.
What is health anyway?
Is it a mere absence of disease?
Should one only take care of themselves physically, mentally and
emotionally after a disease develops? We
must promote “health care” and not just “disease care”.
While early diagnosis benefits some, it is not the only
route toward health. “For years now, people have been encouraged to look to
medical care as the way to make them healthy,” Welch said. “But that’s your
job—you can’t contract that out.”
Cory Couillard is an international healthcare speaker
and columnist for numerous newspapers, magazines, websites and publications
throughout the world. He works in collaboration with the World Health
Organization's goals of disease prevention and global healthcare education.
Views do not necessarily reflect endorsement.
Email:
drcorycouillard@gmail.com
Facebook:
Cory Couillard
Twitter:
Cory_Couillard
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