More and more clinics are advertising cancer and stroke screening packages. Even if people have no risk factors and are in good health, they are still advised to get screened - Photo: XM
Even without risk factors (age, genetics, lifestyle...), people who go for cancer screening consultation are still prescribed tests by some clinics, even CT scans, MRIs...
Misleading advertising
Taking advantage of warnings about the increase in cancer and strokes, plus anxiety, some clinics actively advertise high-priced cancer and stroke screening packages with attractive offers.
The common point of these advertisements is that they make viewers misunderstand and mistakenly believe that everyone needs cancer screening, for example: "Early cancer screening, proactively protect your health", "Cancer screening to detect diseases early when there are no symptoms", "30% of healthy people are also at risk of stroke", "You can leave at any time"...
The cost of these screening packages is listed at several hundred to several million VND, but in reality after consultation it can cost up to tens of millions of VND because of additional tests and imaging such as MRI, CT-Scan...
According to the advertisement of CP clinic (HCMC), the age for cancer screening is from 20 years old and up, the screening time is "periodically every 6 months or 1 year". There are three cancer screening packages at the clinic for both men and women, including: standard, advanced, and specialized, with prices ranging from several million to tens of millions of VND.
Present at this clinic in Tan Binh district branch, the female consultant said the price of cancer screening had increased by several hundred thousand compared to the advertisement, but if 3 or more people were screened for cancer, there would be a 25% discount per package.
This person also advised customers to choose the advanced and in-depth screening package for nearly ten million VND because it will have many blood tests specializing in cancer, as well as an additional CT scan, while the standard package does not.
Along with cancer screening, stroke screening package advertisements are also "blooming". The opening line of the advertisement of the B. International Medical System (based in Ho Chi Minh City) is the question "Who is at risk of stroke?". The answer is "stroke can strike anyone". Over 12 million VND is the price of the full screening package that the staff here advises customers.
A private hospital in Ho Chi Minh City advertises that it "owns" many high-end and rare "super machines" for stroke screening such as: 3 Tesla MRI, 768-slice CT, high-end DSA machine... to help detect the smallest abnormalities even when there are no or no symptoms. It introduces 4 screening packages, in which the basic package is to survey common risks in normal people.
Through many visits and treatments, Mr. KQ observed that many doctors only examined patients superficially, asked a few questions, and then easily prescribed tests and scans for patients, even children. Mr. Q.'s wife also underwent many high-priced scans and tests because she was worried about her frequent headaches, so she requested screening. After receiving normal results, Mr. Q.'s wife stopped worrying.
Confusing and costly
Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Dr. Nguyen Trieu Vu - head of the breast department at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City - said that some of these advertisements are mainly commercial, unscientific and not helpful for screening people.
The overuse of imaging techniques such as full-body CT scans for cancer screening is also ineffective and has not been recommended by any organization.
According to Dr. Vu, no test or scan can detect all types of cancer. Because cancer progresses over time, testing at one point in time may not detect it.
Dr. Nguyen Huu Hoa - oncologist, professional consultant of Pasteur Clinic Da Nang and Vietnam Breast Cancer Network - said that it is not difficult to come across medical advertisements that strongly appeal to the fear of disease, especially cancer. From there, people panic and go to the doctor, do a series of tests, scans, screenings, biopsies...
Sadly, there are places that do it without asking the patient why they came. No matter what the patient requests, the first thing the medical staff must do is to know what symptoms and abnormalities they have before going to see them, then ask about their medical history in detail and do a thorough clinical examination.
If this step is skipped, that is, testing first and asking about the disease later, it will lead to overuse of paraclinical tests, detection of unrelated "benign abnormalities", misdiagnosis or omission...
"The mistake does not lie with the patient, but with the healthcare system. Medicine is not meant to force patients into an endless chain of testing, treatment, and follow-up services without clear benefits," Dr. Hoa stated.
Regarding stroke screening, Dr. Nguyen Huy Thang - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Stroke Association - said that in reality, many people mistakenly believe that stroke screening requires MRI, CT scans, and tests... at high costs, but in reality, the effectiveness is still a question mark. Currently, no country, even the United States, does not recommend that normal people have MRI scans to screen for stroke.
According to recommendations, people over 50 years old or younger with additional risk factors should be screened for stroke. Doing too many screening packages is costly and ineffective, especially when applied to a wide range of completely healthy people. In particular, brain MRI is only aimed at high-risk groups, widespread screening is unnecessary.
People who want to be screened for stroke should see a specialist to assess their risk factors, and not expect any method to prevent stroke for life. "Most strokes are caused by a previous underlying disease. It is very rare for a stroke to occur in a person without any previous underlying disease," Associate Professor Huy Thang emphasized.
Medical staff take PET/CT scan for patient - Photo: DUYEN PHAN
Cancer risk warning from CT scans
A study from the University of California - San Francisco (UCSF) published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine and funded by the US National Institutes of Health indicates that the risks associated with CT scans, especially ionizing radiation, are much greater than previously known.
CT scans in the US may be responsible for up to 5% of all cancers diagnosed each year, a study has found. Reducing the number of scans and radiation doses could save lives.
Dr. Nguyen Cao Luan (specializing in immunotherapy, graduated from the Lowy Cancer Research Center at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia) said that CT scans are a trade-off between immediate benefits and potential risks.
X-rays in CT scans are ionizing radiation, which can damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer.
A good doctor is the best machine.
In an interview with Tuoi Tre, Professor Tran Dong A - senior professional advisor of Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC) - said that a number of doctors abuse advanced diagnostic tests without taking advantage of their ability to examine patients thoroughly.
According to him, the most superior machine in diagnosis is a good doctor who always closely monitors, listens, and communicates with the patient. This helps the doctor diagnose the disease immediately without the need for expensive equipment. In some developed countries, if the doctor orders unnecessary advanced tests, they have to pay, not the patient.
Doctor Nguyen Huu Hoa also believes that a good doctor is one who examines carefully, orders patients to do few tests, and makes diagnoses based on thinking, not machines.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chup-chieu-tran-lan-chuan-doan-hay-truc-loi-ky-1-ma-tran-tam-soat-ung-thu-dot-quy-20250618061517505.htm
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