New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Reckless & Irresponsible
The revised recommendations issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concern mammograms and breast self-exams. Under the new guidelines, the task force now says:
- Most women in their 40’s should not routinely get mammograms.
- Women 50 to 74 should get mammograms every other year until they turn 75, after which the risks and benefits are unknown.
- The value of breast exams by doctors is unknown.
- Breast self-exams are of no value. (This is the most shocking. Four of five young women I know to have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the past two years found the lump in their breast through self examination)
- These guidelines are in disagreement with both the recommendations of the American Cancer Society, and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.
Who makes up this panel of so-called federal experts who recently issued these guidelines about breast cancer screening? My understanding is there are no oncologists on the panel! If this is true, how can we have people making recommendations who are not experts in what they are recommending?
Who appointed them? Do we know if any have been lobbyists for the insurance industry? What exactly are the main objectives of these new and reckless guidelines?
How can a woman examining her own breast be a detriment to her health?
- We need to encourage women to be proactive and vigilant in maintaining health and well-being.
- Women should know from in their teens what a normal healthy breast should feel like.
- Women with a family history of breast cancer need to be particularly vigilant and start screening 10 years before the age their mother or affected first degree relative was diagnosed.
- We are not advocating for added radiation to any part of the body; we do believe that women should find good, competent OB/GYN physicians, develop a relationship and get good reliable medical advice and guidance. Women should not depend on sound health advice from such panels, but rather from health care experts who know their family history and personal health condition.
According to an article in the NY Times dated Nov. 20, 2009, “This panel was appointed by the prior administration, by former President George Bush.” President Obama has been vilified by some for a panel he had no part in selecting. This type of Task Force has been in existence since 1984. Could it be that the prior administration put in place a group to do exactly what this group is doing?
- What exactly are the benefits of these guidelines?
- What are they intended to accomplish and for whom?
“Breast cancer is most common in women over 50. But that doesn’t mean it can’t occur in younger women. There are many cases in women in their 40s. And while it’s far more rare in women under 40, women in their 20s and 30s can and do get breast cancer. But it is relatively rare. Less than 5 percent of all breast cancers occur in women under age 40.” While this might be true in some abstract form, if your child is one of the 5% then to you it is NOT rare at all. Right here in CT between 2007 and 2009, I personally know of five women in their 30’s who have the most aggressive form of breast cancer.
“All too often, a young woman may be misdiagnosed. She may detect a lump or a thickening, go in to see her doctor, and be told she just has lumpy breasts or “fibrocystic disease” and should be followed. And she is—until her doctors realize it’s more serious than they initially believed. Then, they step into action. This is why even though the vast majority of lumps in women under 35 are benign, it’s important for doctors to be vigilant and bear in mind that young women can develop breast cancer.” (The above two paragraphs in quotes are from Dr. Susan Love’s web site at www.dslrf.org)
Another area of breast cancer that needs to be very closely examined and research is– to see if there is a possible relationship between using an IUD and developing breast cancer. An IUD, or intrauterine device, is a tiny, plastic, T-shaped instrument inserted into a woman’s uterus for the purpose of preventing unwanted pregnancies. Compared with other methods of birth control, IUDs are considered to be among the most cost effective and convenient method of contraceptives available.
One of the young women I know was put on birth control pills to regulate her period; she then developed breast cancer. Another had been on birth control pills for several years; she was diagnosed with bilateral tumors at age 34. The other three all had IUDs for four or more years and they were all diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in their early to mid-30’s. While there may be many other reasons why these young women are now sharing this unfortunate distinction, we are saying this needs to be looked at more closely. When we have raised this question with some physicians we have gotten a shrug of the shoulder and a: ‘as far as I know, there has been no link established.’ A link can only be established if there is research and careful study. If breast cancer is indeed rare among young women, when five young women show up with this disease, and birth control methods seem to be the most obvious thing they have in common, it needs to be looked at very closely. We can only find out if we explore. While individual doctors are not responsible for research, vigilant and astute doctors are often responsible for promulgating solutions. These findings should be reported to the CDC.
While we know that we need to be careful how we react to information on the web, there are times when such information is very helpful in pointing us in important directions to get valuable information. Here is one such link:
Breast Cancer Topic: Mirena IUD?
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/27/topic/706634
31 posts – 25 authors – Last post: Oct 8, 2009
My radiation oncologist suspects that the Mirena IUD, which I had inserted 3+ years prior, could have been the cause of my breast cancer. …
Breast cancer in the 30’s might not be as rare as we tend to think. The possible connection between the use of IUDs and breast cancer needs to be explored. One of the women went in and had a bilateral mastectomy and the doctors did not remove her IUD, or even discussed it! Yet, for another of the women her doctor said the IUD had to be removed immediately. Unfortunately, there is no uniformity in standard of care on these issues. It seems to be the luck of the draw, and who you have as a doctor. This is why it is important to be able to check for key background information on your health provider. It is very important that you get the best and most effective treatment at the outset; cancer does not allow kindly for do-overs. While mammograms might not pick up all invasive forms of cancer early enough, if it picks up 30 percent who can be treated successfully, that will be 57,711 of the estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer which occurred among women in the United States during 2009. Early detection and effective treatment are keys to survival and continued good health. Since when is 30% of anything not valuable to know?
Get familiar with what your breast feels like and ask your doctor to teach you how to do a thorough breast self-exam. Get your annual check-ups and talk to your health care providers about your concerns. Be proactive; get informed. Knowledge is power. Empower yourself in 2010. Peace and good health to you.