To test or not to test? Or more specifically, when to test? That's the crucial query. Last November, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that women swap their after-40 annual mammograms for biannual ones starting at 50, and quit breast self-exams altogether. It cited evidence that less frequent mammos could be equally effective at catching cancer. (Fewer tests would also save money, though the group insists it didn't consider cost.) Plus, the USPSTF argued, self-exams haven't been proven to reduce deaths but can lead instead to lots of unwarranted doctors' visits.
The screening revisions ignited a firestorm of controversy (after all,some 40,000 women die of breast cancer each year), thanks to conflicting data on mammogram efficacy. Current research hasn't yielded any hard conclusions, leaving patients confused and aggravated. "One disturbing aspect of the guidelines is that they're based on the idea that having a mammogram is anxiety provoking," says Karen L. Hiotis, M.D., a breast surgeon at the New York University Cancer Institute. "That's almost an insult to me as a woman."
Source: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/breast-health
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