This week, the United States Preventive Task Force (USPTF) issued new guidelines for breast cancer screening. The USPTF analyzed various mammography screening schedules and concluded that:1) Women under the age of 50 should not be screened with routine mammograms because proven benefits are lacking and the risks of harm (such as unnecessary biopsies from false positive results, especially in women with dense breasts) are greater.
2) Screening women of average risk between the ages of 50 and 74 with mammography every two years will achieve most of the benefits of yearly screening, but with less harm.
3) The task force also recommends against teaching breast self-exam.
So why the new recommendations? What new information do we have on the behavior of breast cancers and mammograms?
Many scientists believe that there are two types of cancers.
First there are those that appear suddenly, grow rapidly, act aggressively, and often are diagnosed when it is already “too late” for curative treatment. Even a yearly mammogram might not diagnose this aggressive breast cancer in the early stages.
But for many women (and men when it comes to the prostate) their cancers are of a second type — they are very slow growing, often not even showing up on mammograms for many years. These slow cancers are thought to be much less aggressive. Some experts are even suggesting that these cancers may either disappear on their own or would not cause injury or death to the person with them, even without treatment.
Source: abcnews.com
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This is terrible!! In February of this year I was checked by my OB/GYN who asked me when the last time was I had a mamogram. Its been at least 7yrs, but I always, always did self-mammogram the entire time. Even my OB/GYN did one every time I saw him. I went for the first mammogram and something wasn’t right. My doc sent me to a breast specialist for a second mammogram and they saw something, but it was so deep they were concerned. I had to go thru testing which placed me front side down on a platform. My right breast was thru an opening that allowed them to insert a needle to remove fluid. What showed up on the mammogram was a lot deeper than they thought. They used a larger needle and managed to get i deep enough to get the fluid the needed. Guess what? I had breast cancer. The lump was so big that it was on the verge of opening and going thru the area that would have spread the cancer thru my body to show up somewhere else. I had to have the breast removed, the lymph nodes removed and was lucky to get it before it exploded. I go back to the breast cancer center that ultimately was the best medical ANYTHING I have ever gone to. I ended up wih lymphedema on top of it. A breast cancer bracelet has to stating this information as to be worn 24/7 and was put on the medication to try to keep it from moving to the left breast. I have to have blood testing and a mammogram every 3 months to make sure the cancer had not snuck out of where it was without showing on any film. I am 48yrs old and lucky that my OB/GYN suggested it for nothing he could find, just becaue I had not had one in a while. I have talked to many women who had the same thing done and they were between he ages of 25 and 70. Why doesn’t USPTF realize that changing to the new age can cause breast cancer deaths to go higher than they are now?