Dear editor:

Niagara MPP Wayne Gates is well-intentioned but off track in pushing for OHIP to pay for routine PSA testing.

Cancer Care Ontario has the following statement on its website:

“Due to the potential harms of screening, including over-diagnosis and over-treatment, Cancer Care Ontario does not support an organized, population-based screening program for prostate cancer.  We will continue to watch for new evidence on prostate cancer screening.”

If it were a simple matter of having the test, receiving safe treatment that works and not dying from prostate cancer, we would, of course, all want to get tested.

Unfortunately it is much more complicated than that. The Cancer Care Ontario site includes an excellent “Full Report” to explain its position, which is based on analysis of the scientific data rather than emotions or economics. 

Dr. Steven Millward
NOTL