HALIFAX – Canadian proponents of PSA blood testing say it remains a critical diagnostic tool for prostate cancer despite criticism that it may do more harm than good.
Last week, a committee of scientists in the United States said routine PSA testing doesn’t lead to an appreciable reduction in deaths.
Furthermore, the group said the tests can lead to biopsies that are false alarms, or treatments that leave many men incontinent or impotent for non-fatal cancers.
But Steve Jones, president and CEO of Prostate Cancer Canada, says survivors of prostate cancer routinely credit PSA testing with saving their lives.
Olivia Chow, the widow of former federal NDP leader Jack Layton, addressed the group’s conference today in Halifax.
Chow told the crowd that Layton, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year, was “relentless” in his campaign for men to undergo regular PSA testing.
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