Re:Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enou...
by bildung on Friday June 25, 2021 @10:13AM
(#27631010)
You assume that the treatment works and has no side effects, I think that is the main source of misunderstanding.
A great example is prostate cancer. It often gets detected now, people are informed they have cancer, but most often the correct answer is "watchful waiting", i.e. no treatment, probably forever. But people now know they have cancer, and are frightened, because cancer, and thus press for treatment. But this comes with a 10-90%(!) chance of incontinence and 50-90% chance of erectile dysfunction - for a cancer that most probably wouldn't have caused them bigger problems for their whole life.
A great example is prostate cancer. It often gets detected now, people are informed they have cancer, but most often the correct answer is "watchful waiting", i.e. no treatment, probably forever. But people now know they have cancer, and are frightened, because cancer, and thus press for treatment. But this comes with a 10-90%(!) chance of incontinence and 50-90% chance of erectile dysfunction - for a cancer that most probably wouldn't have caused them bigger problems for their whole life.