Mammograms: To screen or not to screen?

Mammogram | Courtesy of Courier Times

The media have blown up over the mammogram issue within the last few days. On Nov. 16, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued new guidelines for breast cancer screening, including when women should receive mammograms and breast exams performed by their doctors or even themselves.

According to the USPSTF, women should not receive routine mammogram screening until age 50, not 40 as is the status quo. Also, the force goes on to recommend not practicing self-breast examinations routinely until this age as well.

Naturally, this has caused outrage from a plethora of breast cancer survivors whose lives may have been saved by an early mammogram or self-examination. However, while the world is screaming at the government, it should be said that the task force made this decision to lessen the amount of false positives, which often cause intense anxiety and expensive, painful procedures.

Keith Seinfeld, a health care reporter in Seattle, defended the USPSTF’s decision in his blog, Science and Wonder, and he made some good points. In his post, he stated how many women have suffered from false positives and the “treadmill of testing and worry.” He also compares the test to the full-body CT scans advertised in the 1990s that was condemned by medical professionals since they “did more harm than good.”

Of course, those with breast cancer would very likely say that this is much better than not catching the deadly cancer early. So there is obviously room for argument. Sandhya Pruthi, M.D., director of Mayo Clinic Breast Clinic, for example, stated in a video on the Mayo News Blog that the clinic would continue with their previous recommendations, including annual mammograms after age 40.

While it may seem like it could simply be a personal choice to receive mammograms or not, the issue of health insurance is tossed into the mix. Many women are now concerned that since the task force has stated it does not recommend these exams until age 50, that their health insurance will not cover them until that age as well.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen stated in an on-air interview that while the insurance companies have stated that they will continue to cover the exams, many still remain skeptical. It is true that many insurance companies do look to this government task force for ideas as to what they should cover, but Cohen states that many recognize what a “PR nightmare” it would be to end coverage in this area.

Even though it’s been all over the news the last few days, this issue is far from over. Now we have to wait and see the long-term reactions from health care providers and insurance companies, and whether catching cancer for a few outweigh the false positives of many.