Web Exclusive: House committee taps DeWeese’s expertise on prostate cancer
By Dave Adler, assistant director of government relations
Theodore DeWeese, M.D., chair of the department of radiation oncology and molecular radiation sciences at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, testified March 4, 2010, at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on questions and controversy related to prostate cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment. ASTRO government relations staff worked closely with Dr. DeWeese in preparing his testimony, which provided a background on the gaps in screening and treatment approaches, explained why more robust research funding is needed and suggested policies that may help protect prostate cancer patients.
Dr. DeWeese has cultivated a relationship with committee staff, which led to his invitation to testify alongside a distinguished panel including Academy Award-winning actor and prostate cancer survivor Louis Gossett Jr., Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, James Mohler, M.D., chair of the department of urologic oncology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., and other prostate cancer patients and government witnesses. In addition to addressing questions from the committee related to prostate cancer imaging and pressing research needs, Dr. DeWeese’s testimony expressed concerns regarding self-referral in radiation therapy.
The Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing was initially delayed, which forced Dr. DeWeese to leave the hearing early and return to his clinic so that he could fulfill his obligation to his own prostate cancer patients. However, testifying first allowed his testimony to set the tone for the hearing. Committee staff afterward said that they appreciated his expert testimony and that they intend to continue reaching out to Dr. DeWeese for his expertise on prostate cancer.
During the hearing, Dr. Brawley said one of the biggest problems in prostate cancer is that there’s not yet a test than can distinguish the kind of disease that needs treatment from the kind that won’t but must be watched. The American Cancer Society last week released updated guidelines on prostate cancer screening, advising that white men over 50 without symptoms and black men over 45 should decide whether to undergo screening after receiving information on the uncertainties, risks and potential benefits from a provider. Men at higher risk should begin those discussions as early as age 40.