Nov 17, 2009 6:19 am US/Eastern
Fed Panel: Mammograms Should Start At 50
Task Force's Recommendation Strikes A Nerve With Women; Statistics Appear To Refute Government's Assessment
By ROB MORRISON, CBS 2 HD News
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
It goes against what women have done for decades. A government panel said most women should not start getting mammograms at age 40. Instead, they should wait until they're 50.
But some say that could be too late to save lives.
Jessica Moser said early detection saved her life. Cancer was discovered in both her breasts last year through a routine mammogram. The 42-year-old said she can't imagine delaying the procedure, but that's exactly what the new federal guidelines recommend.
"To have the technology and to not take advantage of it would be a real loss. It would be throwing away something that could help you," Moser said.
The task force said women should not be screened at all between ages 40-49. Proponents said the change would cut down on false positives and unnecessary biopsies.
"It doesn't make sense to be putting our efforts into doing mammography screening in women under 50 when we can find better tools that will help more women and be more accurate," said Dr. Susan Love of the Susan Love Research Foundation.
Mahmoud El Tamer, a breast cancer specialist at New York Presbyterian-Columbia, puzzled over another recommendation: the task force said breast self-exams are useless and should not be performed or taught.
"That's my question to the task force is how are these patients going to be evaluated," Dr. El Tamer said.
The panel went on to say women ages 50-74 only need to be screened every two years, a recommendation Dr. El Tamer said flies directly in the face of statistical evidence.
"Women who are screened on a yearly basis with mammograms, you are decreasing the mortality rate between 20-40 percent. That's a significant number," Dr. El Tamer said.
It's too soon to tell the long-term effects of these recommendations. However, many fear the immediate result will cause nothing more than confusion.
The American Cancer Society issued a quick response to these new recommendations on Monday night, saying it strongly disagrees and continues to recommend annual screening using mammography and clinical breast examinations for all women beginning at age 40.
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