IS MAINSTREAM MEDICINE’S IDEA OF “PREVENTION” FALLING APART?
While there is a clear distinction between early detection and prevention, mainstream medicine does not seem to recognize this. Mammography, colonoscopy, PSA screening…these are all designed to catch disease in its early stage, but they are all catching the DISEASE (or at least the precursor to the disease like a polyp).
None of these actually address preventing the disease or condition in the first place. Is it just me that seems disturbed by this?
Further confounding this issue is that we are beginning to find that mainstream medicine’s “prevention” is doing more harm than good. Mammography’s effectiveness has come under fire (many lesions can resolve spontaneously, leading to high levels of overtreatment) and now PSA is under the same level of scrutiny. The bottom line is that lifestyle changes NEED to be implemented instead of relying solely on early detection.