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Upfront
March 1999
Upfront
New York Times Article on PSA Test "Disservice to Men" - NPCC Pres. Jay HedlundMarch 8, 1999 The National Prostate Cancer Coalition says it is "concerned" about an article on the PSA test in the New York Times. "It not only failed to portray accurately the place and importance of the PSA test," said Jim Wetekam, Director of Program and Administration, "but it also seemed to dismiss the seriousness of prostate cancer itself." "I believe the impression with which the article leaves a reader," Wetekam said, "could be dangerous."
NPCC released the following letter to the Times by the organization's president, Jay Hedlund. The Times did not publish the letter.
February 24, 1999
Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
Dear Editor:
The New York Times is to be congratulated for publication of its first-ever special section on men's health. It is a topic that deserves increased attention. Unfortunately, regarding prostate cancer, it may have done more harm than good, and in fact a lot of harm.
It is astonishing that an extensive prostate cancer article neglects to mention that:
· nearly 40,000 men die each year from prostate cancer, the most diagnosed non-skin cancer in America,
· more men are diagnosed with prostate cancer than women with breast cancer and nearly as many men die from it as women die from breast cancer, and
· African-Americans have the highest prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in the world.
In the face of those devastating - and deadly - facts, The Times mysteriously runs an article entitled, "Can the Prostate Test be Hazardous to Your Health?" But it is prostate cancer that is hazardous to men's health, not the Prostate Specific Antigen (P.S.A.) test, one of the tools used to diagnose the disease.
The article does a disservice to men by irresponsibly dismissing the notion that men, age 50 or over as characterized in the first paragraph, should have a P.S.A. test as part of their annual checkup. That disservice is reinforced by the author's apparent misrepresentation of the guidelines of the American Cancer Society - or his taking the statements of their spokesperson out of context.
Two troubling examples:
· The article states " . not one major medical or public-health group endorses the [P.S.A.] screening."
From the American Cancer Society's Cancer Facts & Figures - 1998: "The American Cancer Society's recommendations for prostate cancer detection in asymptomatic men are that annual PSA and DRE [digital rectal exam] should be offered: To men aged 50 and older who have at least a 10-year life expectancy; to younger men at higher risk, such as African-American men or men with a strong familial predisposition to prostate cancer (two or more affected first-degree relatives, e.g., father, brother)" The recommendations of the American Urological Association are similar to those of the ACS.
A second example:
· "But the main reason so many groups oppose P.S.A. screening is the lack of evidence that early detection actually improves a man's chances of surviving prostate cancer."
The American Cancer Society's stated position: "Currently, increased participation in early detection screening programs, with diagnosis of the disease at an early stage, offers the best opportunity for successful treatment of prostate cancer."
It is unfortunate that the author chose to sensationalize important issues regarding early detection of prostate cancer rather than give men the information they need to make informed judgments about how to deal with this threatening disease. The PSA test is just one of several tools a doctor would use to diagnose prostate cancer. Men 50 and older - and younger men in high risk groups -- should be encouraged to talk to their doctors about prostate cancer, not be scared away by alarmist articles like this one.
Sincerely,
Jay H. Hedlund President and CEO
National Prostate Cancer Coalition
1156 15th Street
NW Washington, DC
20005 202-463-9455 (phone)
202-463-9456 (fax)
[email protected]
Related stories
To read the article that caused this fuss register at The New York Times on the Web and choose a password. Then go to their Science/Health section or click on our link below:
Can the Prostate Test Be Hazardous to Your Health?
You might also be interested in the New York Times health section about how to become an active cancer patient: Don't Take Your Medicine Like A Man by Robert Lypsite.
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