Not like MMS, but more like homeopathy. Something along the lines of
"This kind of tumor might be cancerous, or it might not be. There's no way to tell right now. We could treat it aggressively, but that has a n% chance of major side effects without doing much good. We would like to test the effectiveness of natural herbal treatments [or other buzzwords] on early-stage tumors like this one. Drink this type of tea up to four times a day [or take this pill], record when and how often you drink it, and come back for regular screening."
And afterwards "Honestly, there is no way of knowing if that was a benign mass or if the experimental treatment made a difference. We will take your information and use them to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between people based on their use. Based on preliminary information, there is no reason to believe that this treatment is effective, but there is still more data to be gathered." OR "Well, the experimental treatment has failed, but because of the close monitoring we can still begin the conventional treatment in the early stages of development, where they are most effective."
I'm not sure if prescribing placebo when placebo is indicated is a dark art or not...
With all the Bayesian experts here, it should be a no-brainer to figure out what to make of the recent study (popular description). It says that, despite doubling early detection rates, late stage cancers declined by barely 8%, so most new early detections are effectively false positives, i.e. they would not develop into a life-threatening condition if left untreated.
Some contradictory quotes:
"We've suggested to women that having a mammogram is one of the most important things you can do for your health, and that's simply not true," Welch says. "I can't tell you the right thing to do, except to tell women the truth, tell them both sides of the story. We shouldn't be scaring women. This is a really close call."
Eric Winer, head of breast medical oncology at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, notes that the study found an 8% reduction in the number of women whose tumors were detected at more advanced stages. Even under a scenario in which mammograms led more than 1 million women to receive unnecessary treatment, the screenings would have prevented 410,000 diagnoses of late-stage cancer.
Though women have been instructed that "early detection saves lives," relatively few are told that screenings also have costs, including the risk of undergoing surgery, radiation and drug therapy that doesn't help them, Kramer says. "The risks of overdiagnosis are real, and women ought to know about it," Kramer says.
Given the test's limitations, Winer says, women may choose to have fewer screenings to reduce their risk. "It certainly suggests that a woman who chooses to wait until she's 50 to have mammograms, or who chooses to have mammograms every other year, is making a rational decision," Winer says.
“We’re coming to learn that some cancers — many cancers, depending on the organ — weren’t destined to cause death,” said Dr. Barnett Kramer, a National Cancer Institute screening expert. However, “once a woman is diagnosed, it’s hard to say treatment is not necessary.”
“We are left to conclude, as others have, that the good news in breast cancer — decreasing mortality — must largely be the result of improved treatment, not screening,”
“Instead, we’re diagnosing a lot of something else — not cancer” in that early stage, Bleyer said. “And the worst cancer is still going on, just like it always was.”
Another expert, Dr. Linda Vahdat, director of the breast cancer research program at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said the study’s leaders made many assumptions to reach a conclusion about overdiagnosis that “may or may not be correct.”
“I don’t think it will change how we view screening mammography,” she said.