The ACP with a more nuanced approach, suggesting that women in their 40’s discuss mammograms with their physician.
Kudos to the ACP for making women “stop and think about the decision.”
With the recent hype on breast MRIs and chest CTs for lung cancer screening, urging the public to think about the potential risks of evidence-bereft screening is the correct, and long overdue, approach.
Update:
The WSJ Health Blog with more.
Related posts:
- False positive cancer screening tests doesn’t resonate in Congress
- How does cancer screening cause harm?
- Motives behind CT screening
- When women should have their first Pap smear; the new cervical cancer screening guidelines
- Will patients accept the new, evidence-based, breast cancer screening guidelines?
- Mammogram accuracy and computers
- "The great majority of women in the United States should not be getting MRI scans for breast cancer screening"
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Finally!
Personally I believe that every woman should think about mammograms regardless of age. Yes, mammograms in their 50s are likely to save some lives, but the chance of an individual benefitting is still small. While saving lives is worthwhile, this benefit comes with a cost.
I think women should think of what is more important for them: a small (in absolute numbers) reduction in probability of dying from breast cancers vs high probability of at least one false positive, significant probability of at least one biopsy, and very small (but probably larger than the chance of benefit) chance of overdiagnosis (i.e. increased risk of being diagnosed with cancer).
Personally (I am still in my 40s), I no longer have mammograms. I haven’t yet decided what I’ll do when I turn 50.
The main thing people – doctors and patients alike – should realize is that screening is a choice. It is not an obligation, it is not something responsible people do. It is a personal choice based on one’s risks, preferences, tolerance of anxiety that comes with false positives, etc.
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