Too many people are getting tests they don’t need, or don’t understand, while too few are getting those that could save their lives. That’s what Consumer Reports discovered in an extensive investigation of cancer screening that involved poring over reams of research, consulting medical experts, surveying more than 10,000 readers, and talking to patients. Aggressive marketing campaigns have oversold the benefits of many forms of screening and overlooked the harms. The report clearly lays out how our understanding of the disease has changed, explains how statistics can mislead, and provides evidence-based recommendations on the screening tests people need and those that can do more harm than good.
