Mammogram Test
McLEAN, Va. - Most women don't need to get mammograms until they reach age 50, according to a controversial new report that recommends that far fewer women undergo the breast cancer screenings. For years, mammograms have been recommended every year or two for women beginning at age 40. The new report from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now says women this age should simply talk to their doctors about the benefits and risks. The group also says there's no benefit to performing breast self-exams. Ref. USAToday
Mammogram Questions Reveal Breast Cancer Risks, Hid Abortion
October is breast cancer awareness month, in case you haven't seen the pink ribbons on practically every consumer item.
According to last week's bulletin from the state health department (KDHE), 1,916 women were diagnosed in Kansas with breast cancer in 2007 (the most recent year for which statistics are available). In 2009, 369 women and 3 men died of breast cancer in Kansas.
The bulletin said, "Several lifestyle recommendations may reduce the risk of breast cancer. These include avoiding tobacco, staying active, maintaining a healthy body weight, limiting alcohol intake to one or fewer drinks per day, and increasing fiber intake with whole grains, vegetables, and fruits."
At my mammogram last week, I was asked a series of questions as part of the exam. I was NOT asked anything about smoking, food and alcohol intake or my exercise regimen. Ref. Source 9
New study finds mammograms lead one in three women to undergo unnecessary treatment for non-life threatening breast cancer
The study has renewed debate over the value of early detection, raising the uncomfortable possibility that some women who believe their lives were saved by mammograms were actually harmed by cancer screenings that led them to undergo unnecessary treatments. Ref. USAToday.
It needs looking into, and fixing if at all possible, but I do have to say. There are going to be misdiagnoses no matter what, and I would rather they go in that direction rather than the other. The consequences for those wronged by that level of caution tend to be notably less severe than for those who had life threatening cancer that went unremarked.
Edited: daishain on 10th Jan, 2017 - 8:42pm