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What do you think about the newly proposed mammogram guidelines that recommend women start getting mammograms done at age 50 ...
... and repeat the process only every other year. The current recommendations from the American Cancer Society specify that women should start having annual mammograms done beginning at age 40. Now a government panel of doctors and scientists has proposed the procecedure be done almost a decade later. Some health professionals (as well as the public) have become outraged about this decision, fearing that the main motivation behind this change is cost-saving. Early mammograms that are performed on a regular bases (every year) carry an increased chance of detecting a cancerous growth in time and enhance survival chances as well.
What do you think about this proposal?
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575428,00.html
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What do you think about this proposal?
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575428,00.html
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November 20, 2009 05:14 PM
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I find it highly suspicious about the timing of these new "findings", I am equally as suspicious as to the unquestioned manner in which it was reported. I recall in the past, news stories suggesting that preventative medical measures may be overdone were always met with frontal and direct scorn by the media, suggesting that evil HMOs were sacrificing live for lower costs; now, they do report the counter concerns, but it is always on the back side and without the intensity of possible motive.
Does this mean anything? May be not, maybe it is a passive argument for what some wish to see as the new American medical system. I suppose that is not the important thing to get out of all of this.
The only thing of value in all of this, be it before, now or in the future, is that there is nothing like being prepared for your own health care and being informed about your health. Fully trusting another individual, agency, study group or what have you with deciding what is best for you is never right. The most important analysis, consideration and final decision is your own. Those that are self-responsible should also be well informed.
Does this mean anything? May be not, maybe it is a passive argument for what some wish to see as the new American medical system. I suppose that is not the important thing to get out of all of this.
The only thing of value in all of this, be it before, now or in the future, is that there is nothing like being prepared for your own health care and being informed about your health. Fully trusting another individual, agency, study group or what have you with deciding what is best for you is never right. The most important analysis, consideration and final decision is your own. Those that are self-responsible should also be well informed.
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November 18, 2009 09:13 PM
knowledge of socialized medicine in Canada Helpful Answer? (0)
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I think it is a way of getting people ready for the lack of preventative care that they will experience if the health bill goes through. Mammograms are expensive and preventative health care will suffer just as Medicare will.
I think that everyone should take the time to be knowledgeable of what tests they need and be responsible for themselves. This is not to say that physicans should stop advising them the best preventative care due to the escalating costs.
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I think that everyone should take the time to be knowledgeable of what tests they need and be responsible for themselves. This is not to say that physicans should stop advising them the best preventative care due to the escalating costs.
knowledge of socialized medicine in Canada Helpful Answer?
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November 18, 2009 09:54 PM
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/10/26/first-lady-michelle-obama-highlig... Helpful Answer? (0)
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Ironically, Michelle Obama just highlighted breast cancer awareness back in October.
Maybe we can get the president and congress to provide a "stimulus refund" to all the ladies who have been subjected to the effect of Mammogram flattening all these years. "Ouch!"
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Maybe we can get the president and congress to provide a "stimulus refund" to all the ladies who have been subjected to the effect of Mammogram flattening all these years. "Ouch!"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/10/26/first-lady-michelle-obama-highlig... Helpful Answer?
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November 18, 2009 10:46 PM
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I thought the change in recommendation was based on research finding that there were also many false positives for mammograms, causing unnecessary surgery and distress? I'm just going to quote a little bit from the report I found, sorry for the block quote but its very hard to rephrase this stuff :)
The full article is here: http://nejm.highwire.org/cgi/content/abstract/338/16/1089
/quote/
"We performed a 10-year retrospective cohort study of breast-cancer screening and diagnostic evaluations among 2400 women who were 40 to 69 years old at study entry.......Of the women who were screened, 23.8 percent had at least one false positive mammogram, 13.4 percent had at least one false positive breast examination, and 31.7 percent had at least one false positive result for either test.
The false positive tests led to 870 outpatient appointments, 539 diagnostic mammograms, 186 ultrasound examinations, 188 biopsies, and 1 hospitalization."
/unquote/
For me this means the risk in those years they don't recommend a screening is far LESS than getting a false positive and going through medical work you don't need!
Now, if I had a family history then my behaviour would be different, just like it is for skin cancer - I have always been tested each year because of my skin. I think the recommendation is based on solid research, it doesn't stop you getting screened if you want but by changing the age they are removing some of the false testing results and that's a good thing.
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The full article is here: http://nejm.highwire.org/cgi/content/abstract/338/16/1089
/quote/
"We performed a 10-year retrospective cohort study of breast-cancer screening and diagnostic evaluations among 2400 women who were 40 to 69 years old at study entry.......Of the women who were screened, 23.8 percent had at least one false positive mammogram, 13.4 percent had at least one false positive breast examination, and 31.7 percent had at least one false positive result for either test.
The false positive tests led to 870 outpatient appointments, 539 diagnostic mammograms, 186 ultrasound examinations, 188 biopsies, and 1 hospitalization."
/unquote/
For me this means the risk in those years they don't recommend a screening is far LESS than getting a false positive and going through medical work you don't need!
Now, if I had a family history then my behaviour would be different, just like it is for skin cancer - I have always been tested each year because of my skin. I think the recommendation is based on solid research, it doesn't stop you getting screened if you want but by changing the age they are removing some of the false testing results and that's a good thing.
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