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Which cancer screenings should you skip?

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    Advice from Consumer Reports

  • Duration 3:55
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Thanks very much Steve most people think that cancer tests are a good thing to help with early detection but it turns out there are some cancer tests you should skip.

Here with all the details director of consumer reports health ratings center.

Doctor John Santa good to see -- doctor -- to some people are saying consumer reports now into the medical field of giving advice and here is.

The startling report that you've come out with your only recommending.

Three cancer screenings.

For otherwise healthy people right that's right we're talking about people who are not at high risk.

For a cancer which is most of us OK so let's take a look at the good screenings according to consumer reports they are cervical cancer colon cancer.

And breast cancer.

Why did these three make the cut well all of these tests again in people who are not high risk.

End up in saving lives.

Com and and prevent -- problems downstream they're good tests they can easily be delivered to lots of people.

So we sought cervical cancer now here's colon cancer a so much has been made about people getting colonoscopy -- see there the age.

Fifty so that's the starting point unless you have family history right.

That's right.

There's three good screening test for colon cancer colonoscopy flexible sigma -- could be an actually an inexpensive test -- -- annual.

Test look for blood in the school still is just as good as colonoscopy -- flexible -- house lots of talk about breast cancer and when women should have mammograms especially.

With obamacare coming into full force in 2014 all these panels.

Everyone seems to differ you say it's a good screen.

We do for women fifty to -- 75.

It saves lives.

It can be done every couple years now for women between forty and fifty it helps not as much as women fifty.

Few more a false positives and biopsies for the women -- in their forties they need to know that.

But it's a it's a reasonable tends to have are now here is what's not recommended in people I think will be.

Startled by some of this information starting with a screening for.

Prostate.

Ovarian and bladder lung skin.

Oral pancreatic and testicular cancers the two that jump out at me right away -- prostate.

And skin.

Why not.

Well in the case of prostate cancer that's the most controversial this is a blood test.

A lot of men are lining up that sports stores are athletic -- mobile -- hands.

Thinking -- will just have their blood tested.

For prostate to cancer I've been telling my husband to do it so now ain't gonna say well they we need to realize that once they have that test of its positive it's going to be very hard to.

Way what she should do before they have the test.

They need to know that -- a thousand men who have a positive test.

About one will have their life saved three will have serious complications from the treatment possibly death in forty.

We'll end up incontinence or impotence.

Each man needs to decide for themselves whether that makes sense to them.

What about skin cancer because there's been a lot of talk about that too.

You're saying you shouldn't have that once a year dermatology appointment to look at -- normal that's right if not you're not that family who's had skin cancer or you've had skin cancer in the past or you've had.

Many sunburns.

In the past or you have lots of malls.

Well it's fine -- going -- and be checked.

But we shouldn't be lining up from dermatologist to look at our full body that it doesn't pay off it before you leave the full body scans.

Yes sir now now the full body scans are much more likely to find some not hard finding and then you need more tends to figure it out.

Much more likely to end up with a false positive that will harm you not help him.

Interest in research and the director consumer reports health ratings center doctor John Santa thank you so much thank you.

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