Communication about cancer screening

Yesterday, the American Cancer Society announced a shift on their position on certain cancer screenings. The Cancer Society said that American medicine has over-promised on the benefits of screening and some screenings over-diagnosis disease while missing other deadly diagnoses.

While there is healthy debate about the Society's decision itself, from a health communication perspective it reinforces that medical professionals need to take time to engage in discussion with their patients about the real risks and benefits of screening exams. Many patients expect medicine to be certain, where in reality uncertainties abound and not every decision is as simple as "You should get this test when you reach this age." Clinicians need to understand how each individual patient understands and assess risk and other health information. There is a growing body of research examining both how individuals understand numbers (numeracy) and how they assess risks and benefits. But the research is meaningless unless physicians and patients engage in continued dialogue and education about the goals of care, treatment and screening. Continued conversations won't necessarily make the decisions about screening quicker or easier, but they have the potential to ensure that individual doctors and patients the decision that is right for them.