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The good news about research

Ken_z 28th Nov 2008

I'm old enough to remember the 50's when there
was one chemo drug available for cancer patients.
No CT or MRI Scans. No PSA tests.

The good news is that research has exploded and
we have tests and treatments to find cancer earlier
and to treat them far more effectively.

We still need to get basic screening improved.
More women need to do a monthly self exam for
lumps in their breasts and men still need to get a
base PAS at 40 (doctors are finding prostate cancer
in men in their 40's) with periodic testing until
they hit 50. Oddly enough it is wives who make
the majority of appointments for prostate
screening - for their husbands!

We also need to understand that treatment
sometimes comes with a price. My short term
memory was severely impacted by the general
anesthetic used in surgery for my prostate cancer.
My wife did well with a lumpectomy, radiation and
long term chemo for her breast cancer, but was hit
with acute leukemia 13 years later from the
radiation.

Reading medical news is also important and the
internet is a blessing in this regard. OSA (sleep
apnea) is a classic example. People (especially
spouses) read about the relationship between
snoring and OSA and set up a sleep study. Or we
read about the relationship between hypertension
or diabetes and OSA and finally get tested. Or we
learn that reflux, especially at night, or being tired
during the day is a symptom of OSA and get
tested.

The critical issue for the future, however, is not in
testing, but in making testing "safe". Genetic tests
can show a risk of a disease, but it's not
something we want the medical insurance industry
to know about. We need to have pre-existing
conditions and risk factors banned from medical
insurance. Everyone accepted and everyone pays
one price for the same policy.

Then testing for "risk" can take off, bringing down
the costs of the tests, improving monitoring of the
patient and minimizing the costs of treatment
when the problem presents itself.