Better safe than sorry?
We are all encouraged, by medical experts and charities, to be more aware of cancer – there are now even celebrity-backed advertising campaigns and clothes in high street stores such as Topman to encourage us all to regularly “check ourselves”. The more we know about the warning signs the better right? It makes sense that the answer to that question would be yes, however some medical researchers and cancer experts are now questioning the benefits of tests and self-examinations.
Although it is evident that some will have their life prolonged, studies over the past few years have concluded that “both self-examination and mass screening for signs of cancer can sometimes cause a good deal of harm - as well as good - generating widespread anxiety, giving rise to misdiagnosis and even leading to unnecessary and invasive surgical procedures.”
According to an article on the BBC, “10 in 2,000 women were having invasive and sometimes sickness-inducing procedures - including chemotherapy, radiotherapy or mastectomies - for cancers that may never have developed.”
The article received a large number of comments … the general feeling being that people would rather be safe than sorry.