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In This Episode:
Dr. K talks with Louise Walter, MD, an expert on cancer screening in older adults and the Chief of the Division of Geriatrics at the University of California San Francisco. They discuss:
- Why it’s important to consider life-expectancy, before pursuing cancer screening
- How doctors and others can better estimate life-expectancy
- Why cancer screening can be harmful to some older adults
- Why it’s important for older people to ask “How soon will this help me?”
- Why screening for prostate cancer with the “PSA” test is often problematic
- Dr. Walter’s top tips on making sure you get cancer screening services that are right for you
Related Resources:
Life expectancies of women and men by quartiles of health, from Dr. Walter’s 2001 article on cancer screening in older adults:
- A selected list of Dr. Walter’s publications:
- Cancer Screening in Elderly Patients: A Framework for Individualized Decision-Making
- Screening Mammography in Older Women: A Review
- 80 is the new 60: Implications of Irrational Exuberance Regarding Longevity on Prostate Cancer Treatment Decisions
- ePrognosis.org
- Life-expectancy calculators
- Breast and/or colon cancer screening tool
- With 12 Questions, Quiz Gauges 4-Year Death Risk in Older Adults
- NYTimes.com: Interactive tools to assess the likelihood of death
- Prostate cancer screening decision aids (videos & PDF guide from the American Cancer Society)
- US Preventive Services Task Force: Prostate Cancer Screening
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