Mixed signals abound surrounding screenings for prostate and breast cancers. Should we only screen patients in high-risk populations? At what age should screenings begin, and how often should they be done? Are we screening too much or not enough?
On KQED’s Forum this morning, Stanford urologic cancer expert Mark Gonzalgo, MD, PhD, expressed what has emerged as a popular answer to these questions: Screening should be individualized, based on a shared decision-making approach between physician and patient. Gonzalgo was joined on the panel by UCSF researcher Jeff Belkora, PhD; surgeon Susan Kutner, MD, chair of Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Breast Care Task Force, and Richard Knox, NPR's science desk correspondent; their conversation is worth a listen.
