(August 30, 1930), Buffett, an American philanthropist, business magnate, and investor, announced on April 17, 2012 that he had been diagnosed with stage I prostate cancer. The 81-year-old Buffett noted that doctors discovered the prostate cancer after his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels rose and he underwent a prostate biopsy. Buffett elected to undergo daily radiation for two months beginning in mid-July 2012.
Dr. Geo’s take on this:
It is completely ridiculous for an 81 year-old man to be screened for prostate cancer. It is even more absurd to order a bunch of tests like CT scans, MRI’s and bone scans for a stage 1 cancer. Stage 1 prostate cancer implies that the disease is low risk; PSA<10, Gleason score <6 and Stage is T1c.
To top it all off, the logic to treat this type of prostate cancer on a patient who is 81 years-old is asinine.
Unnecessary screening, imaging, treatments and treatment of prostate cancer side effects is what’s driving the urological healthcare cost through the moon. Of course, Mr. Buffet will probably pay for everything out-of-pocket, but that’s not the case for 99.9% of the diagnosed men.
So what’s the best treatment of Mr. Buffett’s prostate cancer? Nothing.
You wonder why the U.S. Preventive Task Force is opposed to prostate cancer screening with the use of PSA?
Reference:
Klotz L. Active Surveillance for Favorable-risk Prostate Cancer: Background, Patient Selection, Triggers for Intervention, and Outcomes. Curr Urol Rep. 2012 Apr 4
