New Mammography Recommendations
Posted By: Patt Christie 
Date Posted: November 17th, 2009 Category: Health Care Reform
I’m aghast at the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations that screening for breast cancer tumors should begin at 40, women between 50 and 74 should be screened every two years as opposed to annually, and women 75 and older can avoid the test altogether. Further, doctors should no longer teach women breast self-examination because it serves little benefit. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/panel-s-mammogram-recommendations-spark-controversy-1.1593180.
The potential for overtreatment is driving the new guidelines, says newsday.
I can’t say I’m surprised that on the heels of health care reform legislation (which, by the way, is probably going to use public money to fund abortions), a U.S. agency is trying to dictate screenings and early detection activism. The American Cancer Society is not changing its recommendations, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/content/MED_2_1x_American_Cancer_Society_Responds_to_Changes_to_USPSTF_Mammography_Guidelines.asp.
All along early detection has been promoted, because that can lead to more successful outcomes. Finding any disease in its earliest stages often leads to more treatment options, fewer treatment needs and less invasive treatments. In the long run, that saves money. And it saves lives.
My breast cancer was found when I was 45. Had I waited five more years to begin mammography screenings (in accordance with these new guidelines), my disease condition could have been drastically different from what it was – and dramatically more serious. Now THAT treatment would have cost bundles more. Or maybe not. I could be dead.
Comment By: Kelly Davis
Date & Time: November 17, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Agree. As a country we are on a slippery slope. Even though I thought this was the direction the U.S. was headed with healthcare, i.e. start rationing care….I still think "not in the United States". They are now telling us that it's not cost efficient, it's not worth it…..well the women and their families that have been diagnosed with breast cancer certainly wouldn't agree with the so-called movement of political correctness. Not to sound overly dramatic, but be complacent at your own risk….because this trend isn't going to stop at mammograms.
Comment By: Patt Christie
Date & Time: November 17, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Mistake on my first sentence; it should be: screening for breast cancer tumors should NO LONGER begin at 40,
Comment By: Cary Bynum
Date & Time: November 17, 2009 at 1:06 pm
This seems to be a trend…and one that I don't quite understand. I discovered prostate cancer at 49 through a PSA, and talk to at least one person a month who has been diagnosed in their 40s, 50s and even 30s. Yet new guidelines are discouraging early detection of prostate cancer as well. False positives are much better than missed opportunities to find any cancer early.
Comment By: Diana Nash
Date & Time: November 21, 2009 at 9:14 am
Agree. How much is a breast or a life worth? Ask the woman's children.
I've known more than a dozen women that have had breast cancer. Thankfully, all but three are survivors. One of the women got breast cancer in her twenties. Most were in their late 30's or in their early 40's. Some of these women are family members. Several are friends. The majority are educators and parents that I've met at school. Fortunately,I teach in a suburb where women can easily access mammograms and treatment. The hardest part of knowing so many women that have been diagnosed is hearing about their illness from a child. Usually the conversation is private; the child is emotional and secretive. "My mom said I could tell you. She had to go to the doctor. She has cancer. It's ok 'cause she's not going to die."
The good news is that most of the time after months, sometimes years of treatment, Mom doesn't die.
Comment By: Cary Bynum
Date & Time: November 21, 2009 at 11:06 am
Good stuff, Diana. I think more people, especially those with first-hand experience, should speak up.
Comment By: Rebekah
Date & Time: November 23, 2009 at 4:21 pm
One really good thing that this recommendation is doing is opening up a dialogue between women and their doctors. When people follow routine testing guidelines, they often overlook the need to discuss their health one on one with a doctor. I can't imagine that my doctor would refuse to order a mammogram if I had a family history, risk factors, or even just really wanted to have a screening done at 40. But I've got to talk to my doctor about those things, not just assume that any recommendation from people who don't know my health and history is right for me.
Another good thing from this recommendation is the sense of urgency we now have about developing less invasive and more reliable breast cancer screening technology. What we have now is flawed and potentially very harmful over the long-term. Thermography, one newer option, hasn't reached a high level of effectiveness. Mammography of course is a high-radiation procedure that STILL can't always tell the difference between dense breast tissue and a tumor.
THAT is why the recommendation was reached – risk versus benefit of the options we have now. So let's get more options. Let's push not just for research for treatment (which is where everyone seems to focus funding now), but better tools for safer and more effective diagnosis.
Comment By: Cary Bynum
Date & Time: November 24, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Women are speaking out on new mammography guidelines.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/124463/Women-Disagree-New-Mammogram-Advice.aspx