Dr. Mehmet Oz is everywhere. You can’t turn on the TV, read the newspaper, or even walk down the street without seeing his face or an advertisement about his TV show. Of course I am a fan of his on Facebook, along with 192,647 others. America has been undeniably tuning into the healthcare industry recently with the upcoming healthcare reform bill. Since healthcare is such a hot topic right now, the media has been coving a story on early mammogram detection. Yesterday Dr. Oz posed the question via his Facebook page, “So what do you all think of the new recommendations that women not get mammograms until age 50, instead of age 40?” Amazingly, 2,629 people responded. Most people were outraged that the government and insurance agencies could even be suggesting this. For years the American Cancer Society has been preaching early detection, with women receiving mammograms at age 40 and self breast examinations. For the government and insurance agencies to say now that there is no supportive evidence of early detection being beneficial just boils down to money since it costs more money for women to be undergoing the mammograms at an early age.
Below is a statement from Otis W. Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer, American Cancer Society.
“The American Cancer Society continues to recommend annual screening using mammography and clinical breast examination for all women beginning at age 40. Our experts make this recommendation having reviewed virtually all the same data reviewed by the USPSTF, but also additional data that the USPSTF did not consider. When recommendations are based on judgments about the balance of risks and benefits, reasonable experts can look at the same data and reach different conclusions.
“With its new recommendations, the USPSTF is essentially telling women that mammography at age 40 to 49 saves lives; just not enough of them. The task force says screening women in their 40s would reduce their risk of death from breast cancer by 15 percent, just as it does for women in their 50s. But because women in their 40s are at lower risk of the disease than women 50 and above, the USPSTF says the actual number of lives saved is not enough to recommend widespread screening. The most recent data show us that approximately 17 percent of breast cancer deaths occurred in women who were diagnosed in their 40s, and 22 percent occurred in women diagnosed in their 50s. Breast cancer is a serious health problem facing adult women, and mammography is part of our solution beginning at age 40 for average risk women. “
To read the full statement: american cancer society
