11/17/09
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10 comments
Study: Women should wait until 50 to get mammograms
NEW YORK — Most women should wait until age 50 to get mammograms and then have one every two years, a government task force said Monday in a major reversal that conflicts with the American Cancer Society’s long-standing recommendation of annual screening starting at 40. Also, the task force said breast self-exams do no good and women shouldn’t be taught to do them. For nearly two decades, the cancer society has been recommending regular mammograms beginning at 40. But the government panel of doctors and scientists concluded that getting screened for breast cancer so early and so often is harmful, causing too many false alarms and unneeded biopsies without substantially improving women’s odds of surviving the disease. “The benefits are less and the harms are greater when screening starts in the 40s,” said Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chair of the panel. The new guidelines were issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose stance influences coverage of screening tests by Medicare and many insurance companies. But Susan Pisano, a spokeswoman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry group, said insurance coverage isn’t likely to change because of the new guidelines. Experts expect the revisions to be hotly debated, and to cause confusion for women and their doctors. “Our concern is that as a result of that confusion, women may elect not to get screened at all. And that, to me, would be a serious problem,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the cancer society’s deputy chief medical officer. The guidelines are for the general population, not those at high risk of breast cancer because of family history or gene mutations that would justify having mammograms sooner or more often. The new advice says: Medical groups such as the cancer society have been backing off promoting breast self-exams in recent years because of scant evidence of their effectiveness. Decades ago, the practice was so heavily promoted that organizations distributed cards that could be hung in the shower demonstrating the circular motion women should use to feel for lumps in their breasts. The guidelines and research supporting them were released Monday and are being published in Tuesday’s issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The new advice was sharply challenged by the cancer society. “This is one screening test I recommend unequivocally, and would recommend to any woman 40 and over,” the society’s chief medical officer, Dr. Otis Brawley, said in a statement. The task force advice is based on its conclusion that screening 1,300 women in their 50s to save one life is worth it, but that screening 1,900 women in their 40s to save a life is not, Brawley wrote. That stance “is essentially telling women that mammography at age 40 to 49 saves lives, just not enough of them,” he said. The cancer society feels the benefits outweigh the harms for women in both groups. International guidelines also call for screening to start at age 50; the World Health Organization recommends the test every two years, Britain says every three years. Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. More than 192,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths from the disease are expected in the U.S. this year. Mammograms can find cancer early, and two-thirds of women over 40 report having had the test in the previous two years.
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COMMENT BY LYNNE: Of course the government will tell you it's too often. That way when Obama's national health care kicks in, the government won't have to pay for mammograms until a woman is 50.
A routine mammogram at 41, found my breast cancer. I guess the so-called doctors on this panel have never had a family member who has had cancer. They would realize the importance of screening for cancer. Early-detection is very important in saving lives.
Definitely the beginning of healthcare rationing. Why would they recommend not doing self-exams.....because a woman might find something and want to see a doctor. Folks, this is just the beginning!
I agree that this sounds more political than medical. I disagree with the thought of delaying it. Early detection is extremely important to successful treatment.
This article is absolutely insane! Everyone of us knows someone whose life was saved because of a routine mammogram or because of a lump found early by a doctor or the woman herself. If these recommendations were not so serious, one would have to think they are a joke! And no mammograms after age 75? This is the beginning of the so-called "death panels" which will be in effect if Obama has his way. In the minds of so many Dems, no one over 75 is worth saving; that is unless you are a Kennedy or someone else in Congress. Wake up America!
I'm 45, have no children and am waiting from the results from my breast biopsy. As I am in a high risk category, I get a mammogram every six months. Mammograms after 50 sounds like a political ploy. Just who is qualified to make that call for me - my attending physician, insurance company or a politician? Perhaps we can limit all tests to a specific age; diabetes, cholesterol, EKGs - the list is endless. We could cut prenatal care and well baby check ups also. Forget drug and alcohol treatment...yes the government task force is truly serving the needs of the people.
THIS SOUNDS LIKE GOVENMENT PROPAGANDA. ARE WE IN THE US OR THE USSR?
Let's just cut the health care and insurance for politicians, they make enough money anyway, and we could put that towards funding exams for everyone else. See how they like it!!!
Welcome to Obama people. Hope all of you who voted him in enjoy all this junk!
A routine mammogram last year at age 53 detected a 2 cm lump that was undetected by myself and even by the surgeon I was sent to,I had it removed because it was cancer, It was one of the scarriest times in my life, I had gone seven years without a routine mammogram, I dont know how often you should have one but mine probably saved my life maybe not forever but at least I have more time to see my granchildren grow up,Have them done before they take away our right to , except for when the Goverment allows it,because it might be to late if you dont. The goverment,the congress and even the President have no right to tell us when we should have these done,