024 – Interview: Better Cancer Screening While Aging

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