Advertisement

Cancer Experts: Widespread Screening, Overdiagnosis May Be Skewing Our Understanding Of Risk

05:18
Download Audio
Resume
A doctor looks at the results of a breast ultrasound, on Oct. 9, 2017 at the Paoli-Calmette Institute. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images)
A doctor looks at the results of a breast ultrasound, on Oct. 9, 2017 at the Paoli-Calmette Institute. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images)

Our risk factors for cancer, such as age, gender and family history, determine how often we get screened. But two widely regarded cancer experts are arguing that the more people get screened, the more cancers we find and treat — and that might not be a good thing.

Sharon Begley (@sxbegle) of our partners at STAT tells Here & Now's Meghna Chakrabarti why too much screening may be misleading us about the real risks of developing cancers.

This segment aired on January 3, 2018.

Related:

Advertisement

More from Here & Now

Listen Live
Close