July 12, 2019 – Stopping Screening

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Anchor lead: Stopping routine cancer screening is an option for some, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Sometimes it is appropriate to stop routine cancer screening, since all screening tests are associated with harms as well as benefits. Nancy Schoenborn, a geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins, looked at attitudes toward stopping routine screening of both care providers and patients, and found patients welcomed advice from their doctor.

Schoenborn: For the patient who may not want to continue screening, to give them permission to stop, so that they don’t feel obligated, that they’re disobeying a recommendation from their doctor.  :12

Schoenborn says it’s also important to understand what patients are understanding about stopping screening.

Schoenborn: What do the patients actually think of these guidelines? Does that make sense to them, does that resonate with them? We’re trying to find patients’ preferred ways for clinicians to have these conversations.  :12

Schoenborn hopes this and further studies will help inform both clinicians and patients so the best individualized approach can be taken. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.