Medicine
Congratulations to Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina, who yesterday became Pope Francis, the new leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The new Pope is 76 years old and in apparently good health. To ensure a long and productive reign, Pope Francis's personal physician would be wise to provide age-appropriate preventive care, which includes yearly influenza vaccination and a one-time dose of the pneumococcal vaccine if he hasn't already received it. He should forgo the PSA test for prostate cancer screening, which would cause more harm than good in a man of his age (or any age), and think carefully about continuing colorectal cancer screening, which adults between 76 and 85 years of age should not undergo routinely due to the close balance between benefits and harms, such as complications from anesthesia. If the Pope chooses to have a colonoscopy, he should select a specialist who will adhere to evidence-based guidelines on screening intervals, to avoid the practice of too-frequent colonoscopy that is unfortunately widespread in the United States.
Although Pope Francis is now a world leader with the status of monarchs and Presidents, he should decline any sort of Presidential Physical that includes screenings that are nonbeneficial (such as the aforementioned PSA test) or have insufficient supporting evidence. In fact, I would encourage him to use the pulpit of the Papacy to challenge the absurd notion that undergoing screening tests in men and women his age is "morally obligatory," which a recent study found is commonly held among U.S. seniors. Pope Francis could call into question the morality of for-profit companies, such as Life Life Screening, that prey on vulnerable seniors in their houses of worship by selling questionable or totally worthless tests outside of the context of the physician-patient relationship. Perhaps a Papal edict banning such groups from advertising in the bulletins of Catholic churches worldwide? Better yet, he could lead an inter-denominational campaign against such abuses in people of all faiths.
- Just Say No To Commercial Screening Tests
In a widely read blog post last year, I harshly criticized the company Life Line Screening for advertising screening tests directly to the public (in that case, my church's unsuspecting congregation) that were either scientifically unproven or potentially...
- "the Best [colorectal Cancer Screening] Test Is The One That Gets Done"
Last week was a busy one for cancer screening. I could choose to criticize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's premature guidelines to screen all baby boomers for hepatitis C (which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer) or the less-than-sound...
- "preventive Health Screenings" That Are Hardly A Life Line
The following deceptive advertisement appeared in my church's bulletin yesterday: Life Line Screening, the nation's leading provider of preventive health screenings, will offer their affordable, non-invasive, painless health screenings [in the...
- Why Screening For Colorectal Cancer Shouldn't Be A Hard Sell
Breast and prostate cancer screening tests may dominate headlines, but in terms of the quality of the scientific evidence that early detection saves lives, there are no better cancer screening tests than those for colorectal cancer, or cancer of the large...
- The Presidential Physical
Based on standards set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the widely respected independent committee of primary care health professionals that for more than 25 years has rigorously reviewed the evidence for benefits of clinical preventive...
Medicine
Preventive health advice for the new Pope
Congratulations to Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina, who yesterday became Pope Francis, the new leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The new Pope is 76 years old and in apparently good health. To ensure a long and productive reign, Pope Francis's personal physician would be wise to provide age-appropriate preventive care, which includes yearly influenza vaccination and a one-time dose of the pneumococcal vaccine if he hasn't already received it. He should forgo the PSA test for prostate cancer screening, which would cause more harm than good in a man of his age (or any age), and think carefully about continuing colorectal cancer screening, which adults between 76 and 85 years of age should not undergo routinely due to the close balance between benefits and harms, such as complications from anesthesia. If the Pope chooses to have a colonoscopy, he should select a specialist who will adhere to evidence-based guidelines on screening intervals, to avoid the practice of too-frequent colonoscopy that is unfortunately widespread in the United States.
Although Pope Francis is now a world leader with the status of monarchs and Presidents, he should decline any sort of Presidential Physical that includes screenings that are nonbeneficial (such as the aforementioned PSA test) or have insufficient supporting evidence. In fact, I would encourage him to use the pulpit of the Papacy to challenge the absurd notion that undergoing screening tests in men and women his age is "morally obligatory," which a recent study found is commonly held among U.S. seniors. Pope Francis could call into question the morality of for-profit companies, such as Life Life Screening, that prey on vulnerable seniors in their houses of worship by selling questionable or totally worthless tests outside of the context of the physician-patient relationship. Perhaps a Papal edict banning such groups from advertising in the bulletins of Catholic churches worldwide? Better yet, he could lead an inter-denominational campaign against such abuses in people of all faiths.
- Just Say No To Commercial Screening Tests
In a widely read blog post last year, I harshly criticized the company Life Line Screening for advertising screening tests directly to the public (in that case, my church's unsuspecting congregation) that were either scientifically unproven or potentially...
- "the Best [colorectal Cancer Screening] Test Is The One That Gets Done"
Last week was a busy one for cancer screening. I could choose to criticize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's premature guidelines to screen all baby boomers for hepatitis C (which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer) or the less-than-sound...
- "preventive Health Screenings" That Are Hardly A Life Line
The following deceptive advertisement appeared in my church's bulletin yesterday: Life Line Screening, the nation's leading provider of preventive health screenings, will offer their affordable, non-invasive, painless health screenings [in the...
- Why Screening For Colorectal Cancer Shouldn't Be A Hard Sell
Breast and prostate cancer screening tests may dominate headlines, but in terms of the quality of the scientific evidence that early detection saves lives, there are no better cancer screening tests than those for colorectal cancer, or cancer of the large...
- The Presidential Physical
Based on standards set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the widely respected independent committee of primary care health professionals that for more than 25 years has rigorously reviewed the evidence for benefits of clinical preventive...