Cancer screening, questioned

Here's a thoughtful article by Gina Kolata from Saturday's NY Times, assessing the spate of new guidelines suggesting that less cancer screening may be a better public health approach. I've discussed this issue in earlier posts, particularly my review of "Overdiagnosed," here (and the article quotes the book's principal author Dr. H. Gilbert Welch). Cost and a new understanding of cancer--including the fact that many cancers do not grow at all or grow slowly--have led to the recommendations of less screening.