The Tyee – What You Should Know about Medical Screening

Ms Kaye is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Mary Carlisle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Prem Gill is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Nancy Flight is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Justin Everett is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
John Westover is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Nora Etches is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Edward Henderson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Bharadwaj Chandramouli is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Dean Chatterson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Marius Scurtescu is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Robert Parkes is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
James Murton is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Susan Doyle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Vincent Strgar is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Helen Spiegelman is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Subir Guin is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Kimball Finigan is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Joanne Manley is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
David Leach is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.

What You Should Know about Medical Screening

Stethoscope

University of Victoria health researcher Alan Cassels, author the book Selling Sickness, investigates and explains the pros and cons of various medical tests sold as ways to detect or prevent illness in people who seem healthy. "I started by looking at the marketing. Who is pushing what kind of screening?" explains Cassels. "Then I look at what does the science say? What do the experts say? And that's where the story is, the gap between the marketing and the science."

In This Series

Do You Really Need that Medical Test?

Today begins a series on hidden risks of medical screening, and how its benefits can be oversold.

By Alan Cassels, 20 Jun 2011

Welcome to the Heart Scanning Industrial Complex

The truth about tests that claim to help keep your ticker ticking. Second in a series.

By Alan Cassels, 28 Jun 2011

Screen Your Genes? Be Careful

Genetic tests will more likely shake you up than settle your illness risk concerns.

By Alan Cassels, 14 Jul 2011

Teen Screen: Should We Be Testing for Mental Illness?

The push is on to early identify youth with mental disorders. Do we really know how? Fourth in a series on medical screening.

By Alan Cassels, 25 Jul 2011

Screening for Prostate Cancer: 'Poster Child' for Overdiagnosis

Before you get that test, know the potential problems as well as payoffs. Fifth in a series on medical screening.

By Alan Cassels, 10 Aug 2011

Breast X-Rays: The Pros and Cons May Surprise You

Mammographies save lives, but not as often as you might think. Know the downsides. Last in a series on medical screening.

By Alan Cassels, 15 Aug 2011

The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed

Experimental Lakes Area was world famous; its findings might have saved Canada billions.

By Andrew Nikiforuk