Fewer men in Pennsylvania and around the country are being treated for prostate cancer as more and more physicians question the merits of a controversial blood test. Prostate-specific antigen testing has been widely used to detect early-stage prostate cancer in men over the age of 50, but critics of the procedure say that it often signals the presence of cancer when there is none. This leads to unnecessary anxiety and invasive treatments that sometimes do more harm than good according to a University of Michigan researcher who studied the Medicare records of more than 67,000 men diagnosed with the disease.
Prostate cancer treatment declines as PSA tests become rarer
American Cancer Society says cancer death rates are down
Pennsylvania residents may be less likely to die from cancer than they used to be, according to the American Cancer Society. The health organization released a report on Jan. 5 showing evidence that cancer death rates have gone down by 25 percent since 1991. The declining rate has resulted in over 2.1 million fewer cancer deaths.
Pennsylvania roads may grow safer without cellphones
In December 2016, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration sought public feedback and commentary on rules that it proposed as part of its Driver Distraction Guidelines. In the proposal, the agency sought to combat the fact that despite its prior efforts at education, many people continue creating hazardous road conditions by using their cellphones and other devices while driving. By asking cellphone manufacturers to help combat the problem, the NHTSA hopes to decrease the likelihood that motorists will get distracted this way.
