Evidence, Clinical Expertise and Patient Preferences

"I could go on with multiple other examples, but the point remains. For the vast majority of cancers, intensive screening after curative treatment does not result in prolong survival, and, even when there is evidence that it does, such as in colorectal cancer, the survival benefit reported is variable and at best very modest. That means that the overall message to oncologists for most cancers is: Don’t be ordering CT scans every six months or following tumor markers every three months. It’s a viewpoint that oncologists have resisted but are finally coming around to. It’s also a viewpoint that is not popular with patients, as you will see."

 When science- and evidence-based guidelines conflict with patient wishes: What’s a doc to do?