Keeping abreast with mammograms

The debate over new guidelines on when and how often women should get mammograms is causing quite the stir. For years, the American Cancer Society and other leading breast cancer organizations have advocated for routine yearly mammograms starting at 40, but a government task force says most women should just wait until 50 to start that process.

Many area doctors are outraged by the new recommendations and breast cancer patients say they can’t fathom changing guidelines that may have saved their lives. According to  CDC statistics, breast cancer mortality rates in women have gone down 1.8% per year from 1998 to 2005. Leading Franciscan Skemp breast expert, Dr. Shorter says she’s worried that if women follow the new guidelines, it’ll reverse the progress they’ve made in detecting breast cancer and saving lives. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, there’s a 98% five year survival rate when breast cancer is detected early on.

However, there is a flip side presented by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. The task force says getting mammograms too early and too often lead to false alarms and unnecessary tests. Also, according to a New York Times article, the government group shows that the amount of women saved by starting screenings at 40, is outweighed by the risks of early mammography.

GASP! Balancing lives saved vs. money spent?!?!?! Of course no one wants that one less life saved to be their own or that of someone you love. But on the other hand, shouldn’t we be looking where at where there’s unnecessary spending in health care? (In a CNN interview, the doctors who leads the gov’t group says it’s not about money).

I guess the real question is…are we too emotional about mammograms to give these new guidelines a fair look?

-stay tuned.