Yesterday my cardiologist let me have a blood test for cholesterol in addition to my regular PSA test. This is to see whether my dosage of statins is enough or should be increased. And whether prostate cancer is returning.
which i agree with (the last bit) mostly but depends on the circumstances, i only quoted your use of the word "ask".
What word would you have used? You can’t TELL someone to do something that they don’t have to do. I now have a full transcript of the letter and below quote a couple of paragraphs. “The evidence shows that compared to men of all other ethnicities, Black men have higher rates of stage 3 and 4 prostate cancer. Worryingly, Black men in their 60s who are diagnosed at these later stages are 14% less likely to get NICE approved treatment on the NHS compared to white men. Despite this, current guidance prevents GPs from telling Black men about their prostate cancer risk and what they can choose to do about it. It shouldn’t be this way.” The emboldment of the above text is mine which may give us a clue as to why GPs do not appear overly enthusiastic to approve a PSA test. The guidelines obviously need reviewing.
What word would you have used? You can’t TELL someone to do something that they don’t have to do. In an earlier post:- “Men aged 50 or over can ask their GP for a PSA test, even if they do not have symptoms.” Just to spell it out, i was agreeing with you - nothing wrong with asking...
https://bjgp.org/content/74/745/e534 Abstract Background Screening is not recommended for prostate cancer in the UK. Asymptomatic men aged ≥50 years can request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test following counselling on potential harms and benefits. There are areas of clinical uncertainty among GPs, resulting in the content and quality of counselling varying. In the absence of organised screening, the UK operates an informed-choice approach, whereby asymptomatic men aged ≥50 years interested in PSA testing must first be counselled by their GP on the pros and cons. The prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP) provides guidance for GPs on how to counsel patients. This process is patient led, with GPs recommended against proactively raising PSA testing with asymptomatic men.8 Evidence suggests GPs’ views on PSA are varied, and quality and content of counselling may vary considerably
Hopefully in the near future and the trial that prostate cancer uk are doing will result in screening for all men
This paper is written by doctors (Royal College of General Practitioners) for doctors. BUT they are not being given consistent advice as NICE NG12 and PCRMG are not in tune with each other.
