Comments on: Breast Examination & Mammograms http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/11/breast-examination-mammograms/ Fresh Thought. Fresh Perspectives. Fresh Debate. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:39:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: MdDiva http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/11/breast-examination-mammograms/#comment-8459 MdDiva Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:02:28 +0000 http://thefreshxpress.com/?p=11064#comment-8459 This article is full of misinformation, and it's really a shame. First, let me just say that I too disagree with the USPSTF's new recommendations on mammograms. The US Preventative Services Task Force is an independent agency that pretty much sets the guidelines for medical care in primary care. They aren't a bogus medical panel, nor have they ever released information on any type of super fruits. All the recommendations they make are based on actual peer-reviewed data. The recommendation is based on the fact that though screening programs can detect cancer earlier, they can also lead to a great deal of false positives, which lead to unnecessary invasive medical procedures and emotional distress. Same goes for self-breast exams; they catch a lot of cancer, but they also catch a lot of things that aren't cancer. All these extra unnecessary procedures add up and contribute to the exorbitant health care costs that exist in this country. None of this, however, gives you much comfort when you are the 51 year old woman with invasive cancer that could have been picked up in your 40s. I can only hope that this recommendation does not affect insurance reimbursement for mammogram any time in the near future. Also, FYI, it is not recommended that men be routinely screened for prostate cancer, and many doctors do not...but that's whole other discussion. This article is full of misinformation, and it’s really a shame. First, let me just say that I too disagree with the USPSTF’s new recommendations on mammograms. The US Preventative Services Task Force is an independent agency that pretty much sets the guidelines for medical care in primary care. They aren’t a bogus medical panel, nor have they ever released information on any type of super fruits. All the recommendations they make are based on actual peer-reviewed data. The recommendation is based on the fact that though screening programs can detect cancer earlier, they can also lead to a great deal of false positives, which lead to unnecessary invasive medical procedures and emotional distress. Same goes for self-breast exams; they catch a lot of cancer, but they also catch a lot of things that aren’t cancer. All these extra unnecessary procedures add up and contribute to the exorbitant health care costs that exist in this country. None of this, however, gives you much comfort when you are the 51 year old woman with invasive cancer that could have been picked up in your 40s. I can only hope that this recommendation does not affect insurance reimbursement for mammogram any time in the near future.

Also, FYI, it is not recommended that men be routinely screened for prostate cancer, and many doctors do not…but that’s whole other discussion.

]]>