Analysis of Prostate Cancer testing options
I made this following an excellent BBC Radio 4 documentary on the subject this afternoon
I’m not a doctor, this isn’t supposed to be medical advice for you, but I think it maps out the options quite clearly – and shows that there aren’t many good outcomes from taking the PSA test. (Sorry to lower the tone but the infamous ‘Finger Test’ is also said to be pretty unreliable, often giving both false positives and false negatives).
So I hope it’s a useful infographic for men of a certain age, but also for students of statistics: the same options apply to “Would you buy my product?” or “Would you pay more for this product?” etc
YahyaAA1 says
Chris, perhaps you could make a similar graphic dealing with the current idea of best practice: doing an MRI before deciding how to treat a suspected cancer?
From the program:
“(Interviewer)
How would you want your prostate investigated? Assume you had a PSA … come back as worryingly high. What’s the next stage for you – you’d want an MRI presumably?
Hamdy (expert)
Yeah I think what’s inescapable now is that imaging has come a long way and I would want to have an MRI before anybody is trying to do a biopsy on me. And the reason I would want an MRI is that if there is an abnormality that can be picked up at least the needle for the biopsy can be placed exactly in the right region so that an important cancer is not missed.”
That seems like a smart choice to me!