Amid ongoing controversy about the ability of mammography exams to lower women's risk of death from breast cancer, US health officials February 21 released new clinical guidelines recommending even more widespread use of mammograms to detect the disease.
The new guidelines, issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force, call on all women over 40 to receive screening mammograms every 1 to 2 years, though the specific interval is left up to women and their doctors.
Previous recommendations issued by the task force in 1989 and 1996 reserved screening for women over 50 years of age.
Officials said they did not have strong enough scientific evidence to recommend the age at which women should receive their first mammogram, or at exactly what interval they should go for repeat screenings.
Officials gave widespread mammography strong backing even as scientists continue to grapple with the ramifications of a Danish study released in October 2001 that questioned the value of mammogram screening in reducing breast cancer mortality.
The authors of that study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, concluded that previous research showing a benefit was flawed and that widespread mammogram screening is unjustified.
Specifically, the Danish researchers argued that earlier studies in Europe and North America were improperly randomized and that they used a faulty definition of breast cancer survival.
Reviewers had been working on the guidelines since first convening in 1998 and that last October's Danish review did not cause them to speed up their release. Still, the National Cancer Institute offered its endorsement to the new recommendations before its scientific review committee issued a report on the overall quality of mammography data.
Officials stressed that mammography screening is not foolproof.
The technology carries a first-time false positive rate of up to 6%. False positives can lead to expensive repeat screenings and can sometimes result in unnecessary invasive procedures including biopsies and surgeries.
Reuters Washington February 21, 2002
Let me summarize this for you.
The European experts' formal review cannot find any evidence for the benefit of mammograms.
Screening mammography provides about 1,000 times greater radiation exposure than that from a chest X-ray.
Even the National Cancer Institute finds that monthly breast self-examination (BSE) following brief training, coupled with annual clinical breast examination (CBE) by a trained health care professional, is at least as effective as mammography.
I don't get it. I just don't understand how these U.S. "experts" can come up with a recommendation to increase the use of mammography and add billions of wasted dollars to our health care budget with no benefit and causing increased cancers in many women.
This just doesn't add up from my perspective.
Bottom line?
Avoid mammograms and be diligent about regular breast self-exams. Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women and is a real issue.
Take proactive steps by stopping estrogen replacement therapy unless you have had your ovaries removed.
Also, increase your vitamin D intake.
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