Medical Testing: Is It Necessary?

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Did you know that it is estimated that more than $200 billion is spent each year in the United States alone for unnecessary medical tests? No one is suggesting that a person should disregard medical advice, especially if a person has symptoms which are questionable, but many doctors are recommending against some of these tests because they can sometimes be dangerous and in most cases completely unnecessary. For example: Over $2.5 billion is spent on PSA screening for prostate cancer, which many doctors say, actually does more harm than good. Pap tests for women who have had hysterectomies and women over 65 with no history of cervical cancer are unnecessary according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. I asked my doctor. Many other procedures are also deemed unnecessary, such as biopsies, yearly electrocardiograms, exercise stress tests, bone density tests, MRI scans and other imaging tests for lower back pain, and are often misleading. The WISE thing to do, is ask questions. LOTS of questions! And make sure you know the whys and wherefores BEFORE you agree to any medical test. You especially want to know if there are any possible side effects. If a doctor suggests a test to you, ask WHY? What will the test accomplish? Will the results be conclusive? Is there an alternative to the test? The reason I’m writing this, is because one of the doctors that I visited recently, suggested that I have a PET scan. I won’t go into details about my health issues, but I decided to do some research and decided that I would NOT have the scan, at this point. I decided to get a second opinion. Obviously, each person has to decide for themselves, what tests they will agree to have. But, I just think that most of the tests that doctors order are completely unnecessary, based on what I have researched for myself. What do you think?