mammogram guidelines

The New Mammogram Guidelines: What You Should Know

Some find the new guidelines upsetting, but there are reasons for the changes.

By By Rodale.com editors

Topics: breast cancer, mammograms, radiation


Educate yourself about both sides of the controversy—there's time—and then consider your options in consultation with your doctor.

New guidelines about mammograms leave women with some decisions to make.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—This week, the U.S. Preventive Task Force published its new breast-cancer screening recommendations suggesting that most women don't need mammograms before they turn 50. The announcement set off a firestorm of controversy, since many women in this country are accustomed to annual screenings once they turn 40. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stepped into the fray on Wednesday. "There is no question that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations have caused a great deal of confusion and worry among women and their families across this country. I want to address that confusion head-on," she said in a statement. "The U.S. Preventive Task Force is an outside independent panel of doctors and scientists who make recommendations. They do not set federal policy and they don’t determine what services are covered by the federal government." While acknowledging the new guidelines, Sebelius stressed that federal policies remain unchanged. "My message to women is simple. Mammograms have always been an important lifesaving tool in the fight against breast cancer, and they still are today. Keep doing what you have been doing for years—talk to your doctor about your individual history, ask questions, and make the decision that is right for you," she said.

For insight into the controversy about the new mammography guidelines, we talked to Diana Zuckerman, PhD, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families. Here are our questions...and her answers.



1: How do the new guidelines compare to existing recommendations?

2: What's the thinking behind giving fewer mammograms to women in their 40s?

3: Why do the new guidelines recommend not teaching breast self-exams?

4: Is this an example of women's health not being considered a priority?

5: Do you think insurance companies are likely to make changes based on these new recommendations? If so, how soon?

6: Some describe this as accepting one more cancer death among women in exchange for eliminating some stress and discomfort for many others. Is that a fair criticism?



Women under 50 are more

Women under 50 are more likely than older women to have false positive mammograms, resulting in their needing additional testing for something that turns out not to be cancer. They are also far less likely than older women to have breast cancer detected by mammograms.
payday cash advance

Welcome to buy Mulberry Bags

Welcome to buy Mulberry Bags UK,we offer such as mulberry handbags,mulberry wallets,and mulberry alexa bags Which is The Most Fashiponable With Free Shipping,No Sale Tax! Discount Mulberry outlet store are always here waiting for you!

80% OFF Sale cheap mulberry bags on our mulberry outlet,Buy Mulberry bags from our Mulberry factory shop outlet!We offer free shipping from mulberry online,we Mulberry Outlet have the AAA quality with the discount prices.

Mulberry factory shop offer mulberry bags online outlet.Annually mulberrys sale season offers 80% discount on all the genuine leather bags.Shop for your favorite Mulberry now for a price you can afford.

Luxury British label Mullberry Bags was founded in 1971 and has long been recognised for its highly crafted fine leather goods. The company's strength lies in its elegant Mullberry Handbags like the Bayswater and Alexa, which both became instant fashion classics. Mulberry factory shop online like the most British historic boutique which is more than a century old, after the brand become young, multi-pocket, multi-buckles, rivets and more so with aesthetic design and practicality, once again popular around the world.

Welcome http://www.mulberrymulberrys.org/

tory burch

tory burch boots will give you a warm winter this year!

Vonia Serakos

Vonia Serakos is a thief. Stealing people's money - mine for almost $3,000 and that of a 87 year old woman for almost $4,200.

Mammogram

Vonia Serakos, Would love to have the money to get my yearly mammmogram as I have already had one large mass removed, but alas you stole my money.

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment

I realize I am another anecdotal occurence that falls outside of the statistics, but I find my situation ironic. I am a 48 year old Family Medicine physician with an identical twin sister who was one to get her mammograms every year. We did both have fibrocystic breast condition which does make the mammogram very challenging for even the most tnorough of radiologists. When we were both 45 years old (2006) I had had my annual mammogram which had been read as negative. My sister had hers later in the year and called me about her biopsy results after a fine needle biopsy of a lump seen on her mammogram in 2006 which had been read as negative in 2005. She had lobular breast cancer. At that time a sentinal node biopsy had been performed and the initial results were negative, but after going through all the sentinel nodes car-efully a few cancerous cells were noted. Fortunately, in the state of Minnesota I "qualified" for an MRI. This came after a repeat mammogram read as negative and an ultrasound also read as negative. Again fortunately the radiologist reading the MRI had a feeling that the ultrasound performed after the abnormality seen on MRI being negative was not accurate. She went on to perform a biopsy under MRI which was positive. I did go on to opt for a bilateral mastectomy with bilateral reconstruction started at the time of the mastectomy. I also opted for chemotherapy because the Oncodex equation placed me in a gray zone in terms of likelihood to benefit from chemo or not. Again I was very fortunate and had no complications and essentially no side effects from the chemo either. That is probably the exception and not the rule. My sister and I had no family history and our only risk factor (which is not found to be a true risk factor based on evidence based medicine) was that we had both been on oral birth control for many years and had fibrocystic breasts. My sister had children much earlier than I and nursed both. I didn't have children until I was 37 and 39 and nursed both to 2 years of age. My sisters cancer was much larger and into the lymph nodes and mine was not. We would possibly not have had any mammograms for years, and my cancer would have possibly been a stage further progressed if my sisters mammogram had not come after my annual mammogram. Just an isolated example.

Cancer in Women

I think the new guidelines are all about money!! I know many women of all ages that have had cervical and breast cancer. How can this be justified?

New Guidelines for Mammograms

Wow, what a slap in the face to the Susan G. Komen foundation! I found my breast cancer from doing a self breast exam after my sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer found during her first mammogram. She is 41 and I am 33. Neither one of us has a strong family history. I wonder how long it will be before the insurance companies won't cover mammograms until the age of 50 and those whose cancer is found, denied treatment because it is "too far gone" (or rather too expensive to treat). This is just the beginning of rationing health care! One in eight women will develop breast cancer - 80% of those cases will have no family history! Don't jeopardize your life just so the government can save a buck.

New guidelines for mammograms

This is for all the young women out there. KEEP doing that monthly self exam, forget these new guidelines. I am speaking as a mother who's 33 yr. old daughter found a lump that turned out to be cancer. She saved her life by finding it early. Cancer is not going to wait till your at that age you SHOULD get a mammogram. You have to be aware of your breasts and any change or lump , you go to your Dr. and be persistant, make sure you have the proper tests taken, Don't take no for an answer, If your told you don't fall within the guidelines , tell them to stick the guidelines and give you the mammogram or needle biopsy or whatever it is will tell you it is or is not cancer. Its your LIFE !!Thank God my daughter has a fantastick surgeon and chemo doctor.

a breast cancer survivor wants her voice heard

I am a 47 year old woman who had her first diagnosis at the ripe old age of 29. I found the lump myself. Prior to this, I had watched my sister, who was twelve years older battle breast cancer and lose at the age of 39. She had been ill for less than 2 years. Neither of us fit these "new guidelines". My second diagnosis came when I was 44 years old, found in a routine mammogram. Again, I would not have fit these "new guidelines". While the treatment options would seem pretty harsh to some people, I far prefer to go out fighting than sit there and hope that the cancer would miraculously go away, as in the supposed 50% cases quoted. Equally troubling is the idea that breast exams should not be taught. The caveat line added here was that of course if you found a lump you should be examined, and have a mammogram. But if you didn't learn how to find the lump, chances are quite good that it would be at a later stage, and fatal, as it was with my sister. A women's health is more important than the profits of any doctor, hospital, or insurance company. The oath sworn in medicine is "first, do no harm." Well shame on the writers of the new guidlines. May they all follow them and suffer the consequences, however unlikely that may me, as they are mostly all male.

Mammogram Guidelines

There are thousands of women under the age of 30 that are diagnosed with breast cancer. I wonder who got bought off this time. They can promote viagra for men, but when it comes to women's health they come out with bogus studies like this. My daughters have two friends that were diagnosed under the age of 30 and my best friend was diagnosed at 45. This is crap.

Government Health Care

The senators and house members are protected by their high class health care insurance and forcing low class health care on the people. They need to remember that they have children and grand children and greatgrandchildren who will NOT be among the elite and they will suffer for the policies that THEY are putting into place now.
They need to think about that

Mamograms and cervical cancer tests

Do you mean that we have been lied to all these years ? There is MONEY in the air....money for cooperatives of the government run healthcare system. I am ashamed for the Am Cancer Association and all others who have bowed at the alter of the dollar.
God HELP us !

New guidelines for mammograms

This just rings with discrimnation and all about money. Women in their forties have raging hormones and for years we were told in was all in our heads. Now when there are new treatments being founded, we are being told to wait until fifty. Nonsense--we all now women in their 20's, 30's and 40's that have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Be safe and get your mammogram every year.

mammograms

Again women are at the bottom of the barrel. Prevention is the word and mammograms are a necessity. All the politicians can afford whatever they need so leave us alone. Without us you are nothing.

mammograms

this is not a new agenda... nothing on this issue has been passed.

New guidelines for mammograms

Ten years with zero mammograms and then having mammograms every two years instead of every year will cut the amount of radiation by more than half.
This statement itself gave me more comfort about waiting an extra year to get mammograms.
Thanks for all the information on this topic. I know women are interested in this.
I would hope that women under 50 would be aware of their family history and would get screened before age 50. I have two friends who have just been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Both are under 50.

free daily newsletter

Sign up for the FREE daily newsletter and receive a FREE gift, 25 Secrets for Healthy Living on a Healthy Planet ($4.95 value).

Email:

Rodale.com on Facebook

follow @RodaleNews

Get the latest news and useful tips about your health, food, and the environment!


Tweet Here
Advertisement
Rodale Home Remedies Finder

Find (or share!) a solution for all your aches & pains. Thousands of tried and true safe remedies!