The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force earlier this week updated guidelines, saying women in their 40s do not need routine mammograms for early detection of breast cancer.
Apparently these “experts” — none of whom are oncologists — haven’t been reading our obituaries lately. Hardly a week goes by without a woman in her 40s dying of breast cancer.
We would invite this panel to come to Southwest Missouri and meet Carl Junction Postmaster Sharon Clark, a breast cancer survivor, who just worked to sell more than $10,000 worth of breast cancer stamps and raised $2,000 for breast cancer research.
Or maybe they could talk to Sarah Burkybile of Joplin, who, at age 28, is finishing her second round of chemotherapy after a reappearance of breast cancer.
Ask Kim Weathers about breast cancer. The 47-year-old Joplin woman was 26 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society looked at the same data as the task force but came to an entirely different conclusion, and continues to recommend women should get annual breast exams beginning at age 40. Experts at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center also voiced concern and said they aren’t changing their screening protocol.
“We disagree with their conclusions,” Dr. Therese Bevers said of the task force. “You have to screen more women. It’s the value we put on zero women dying.”
Just coming off October’s Breast Cancer Awareness month, this report, in our view, has done damage and created confusion, and could keep women from being screened.
We are also concerned that some health insurance carriers might decide not to cover mammograms for women in the 40 to 50 age group, or that they might have to jump through hoops to be reimbursed.
This is one health report we hope will largely be ignored.
