Clinic hits back over prostate tests
THE founders of a new private clinic have defended tests they use to detect signs of cancer.
Consultant surgeons Owen Cole and Duncan Harriss opened the clinic at the new Castle Consulting Centre at Nottingham Prostate Clinic in Long Row this week.
Patients pay £195 for a full assessment – including a test for cancer and a physical examination – and do not need to be referred by their GP. A test for prostate specific antigen (PSA) is taken with a small pin-prick.
But the technique came under fire from Dr Greg Place, chairman of Notts Local Medical Committee, who said it produced false positives and negatives.
He would prefer patients to be tested only if they showed symptoms of prostate cancer.
But Mr Cole and Mr Harriss have hit back.
Mr Cole said: "Prostate cancer is often quite advanced before it causes symptoms, and the PSA test can pick up cancer before symptoms develop."
Comments
by M Fletcher, Arnold
Saturday, December 13 2008, 1:25PM
“i would like to add my support to the new Prostate cancer clinic. Sixteen months ago my husband was succesfully treated by Mr Harriss, he went for a routine PSA test at our GPs surgery because of a family history of prostate cancer.
His PSA was only very slightly raised and he had no symptoms but cancer was found and treated. Instead of Dr Place critisising he should be openly encouraging GPs to routinely screen for this disease and help raise awareness. A lot of men do not even know the syptoms or where there prostate is.”