The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

Whether you have a faith in God or not, the Bible is one of the best books even written to gain wisdom for living.  Here's a  verse which I believe should be applied to those who are for and against prostate cancer screening.

Matt 7:16-18
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

 In America 98% of graduating medical students swear to some form of the Hippocratic Oath. In this oath a Doctor swears "that s/he will do what's best for the patient rather than whats best for the physician."

Here's the problem for men. The following organizations believe men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer hurt themselves with unnecessary and aggressive treatment causing a life-time of harm. Here's the list of organizations who want to protect men by keeping them in the dark about prostate cancer:
US Preventative Task Force
The American Urological Association recommends men wait until they are 55 before  prostate cancer screening.
The The American Academy of Family Physicans came out against screening.

Let's get the fruit of these recommendations. In the past week I've heard from men and widows who were effected in devastating ways by prostate cancer while men were in their 30's. The devastation came in from two directions. Either men died quickly or men suffered with advanced PC for years because they were considered too young to be screened for PC.

So the question for this month, National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is: Does Prostate Screening Save Lives?
Some say No
Others Say Yes

If you live by: "When in doubt, take the easy way out"- Then you'll avoid screening and agree with those who say: Don't bother.

As a man who was dx with PC at age 58 I'm outraged that organizations have come out against prostate cancer screening in order to protect men from themselves. Here's where the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the need to be a fruit inspector comes into play. I've recently met some PC widows whose husbands would be alive today IF they were screened in their 30's.

To every healthy man who reads this, it's your life. Do you want to live until you see your children marry? Do you want to live to become a grandfather? Increase the odds of this happening. Get your PSA and prostate checked in your 30's. Unfortunately, most Doctors will tell you this is unnecessary. I say it is. Who are you going to believe? To those men who say I'll believe the guy or gal with the medical degree consider this:
Incidence of aggressive cancer in young men is on the rise

Do yourself and those who love you a favor. Get your prostate and PSA checked. The life you could save would be your own. If you know a man who hasn't had his prostate checked, share this blog with him. You may become his life saver.

If you've dx with PC and want more information about the Robotic Surgery check out my book:
I Left My Prostate In San Francisco-Where's Yours?
By Rick Redner MSW & my wife Brenda Redner RN