Ethics of Screening
Ethics of Screening;Genetic Screening for Breast or Prostate Cancer
Order Instructions:
Ethics of Screening
The decision about whether or not to screen for a condition can be quite controversial. However, even in the case of noncontroversial screening programs, such as blood pressure screening, there will always be factors that argue for and against the implementation of the screening program.
In preparation for this week’s Discussion, consider the following controversial screenings: genetic screening for breast or prostate cancer, mandatory HIV screening, and obesity screening of school-aged children. Consider the pros and cons of screening for each of these health issues.
Post by Day 4 a response to the following:
Please describe the topic you selected and give some background about factors that contribute to a decision whether or not to implement the screening program within the population at large or within a subgroup of the population.
Choose and “claim” a side to argue-either pro or con-and provide an argument, supported by scholarly evidence and properly referenced, for the side you chose.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Genetic Screening for Breast or Prostate Cancer
Factors that contribute to a decision of whether or not to implement the genetic screening for breast or prostate cancer within a population of adult patients are varied. One of the factors is the history of breast or prostate cancer. According to (Caltabiano & Ricciardell (2013), breast or prostate cancer have a history of how they are transmitted and how long it takes for the bacteria to cause symptoms in the body, what happens if treatment is given, and what happens if treatment is not dispensed. Another factor that can make the disease to be screened is because it has preclinical or asymptomatic stage, whereby, the individual is diseased but is not showing symptoms (Caltabiano & Ricciardell, 2013). Breast or prostate cancer takes many years to begin to develop and, therefore, screening is recommended. The other important factor that could lead to screening of breast or prostate cancer is because the treatment that could be provided at an early stage would result in a more favorable outcome for the individual, than if the treatments were administered after symptoms appear.
Miller, Ashar, Sisson and Johns Hopkins University (2010) attest that medical practitioners may not recommend genetic screening for breast or prostate cancer because of its respective cons. One of the cons is that normal screening results do not guarantee healthy genes in that, if a patient tests negative for the breast or prostate mutations, but the presence of mutation is not confirmed in a family member with the respective cancer, the patient is still considered high risk. Another con is that close monitoring with regular tests does not always succeed in detecting breast or prostate cancer (Miller, Ashar, Sisson & Johns Hopkins University, 2010). Some patients end-up being diagnosed with later-stage disease despite the best screening techniques. Another reason why a medical practitioner would argue against genetic screening for breast and prostate cancer is that for some patients, abnormal tests can trigger anxiety, depression, or even anger, which can complicate the disorder further.
References
Caltabiano, M. L., & Ricciardelli, L. (2013). Applied topics in health psychology. Chichester,West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Miller, R. G., Ashar, B. H., Sisson, S. D., & Johns Hopkins University. (2010). The Johns Hopkins internal medicine board review 2010-2011: Certification and recertification. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby/Elsevier.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
