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Mammogram guidelines have changed. On November 16, 2009 the U. S. Preventive Service Task Force:
These mammogram guidelines are startling! For almost twenty years the American Cancer Society has said otherwise. They advise that women get an annual mammogram starting at age 40. This situation can produce great anxiety if you are in your 40s.
How many stories have you read, and how many stories have you heard about women in their 40s with breast cancer? How can they make such an arbitrary decision?
The U.S. Public Health Service started the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in 1984. Later, in 1998, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality became their sponsor. This Task Force:
The mission of the USPSTF is to:
Age
Gender
Risk Factors
The 16 members of the USPSTF include:
Three of them are Medical Directors of large facilities; 10 of them are Professors at their Medical Schools, and 2 of them are Academic Deans. They work in places such as:
Looking at all these credentials surely adds some credibility to this group and their recommendations.
"These are confusing days. You might even feel angry knowing the lives that have been saved recently."
These are confusing days. You might even feel angry knowing the lives that have been saved recently.
Breast cancer research and treatment will change with time. It is important to stay current on issues like this.
So, the Task Force is telling you:
Yes, this flies in face of logic. It contradicts everything we have been taught. But, primary care doctors may adopt these new rules. And, of course, the insurance companies may also adopt them. There are several prominent doctors, such as, Dr. Susan Love who agrees with the new directive. She said the research trials were large and randomized.
Of course, none of this applies to you if you are a carrier of BRCA 1 or the BRCA 2 gene passed on from your mother. You need screening every year no matter your age.
You and I must remember that there are research studies that led to these pronouncements. It may be hard to believe, but you are not alone. Keep in touch with us and listen to the news online.
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"This website is for all breast cancer patients, their families and friends. I want people to know that they can overcome this disease by learning what to do, where to go for great medical help, how to deal with insurance and all the other problems facing them.
I have worked with some great people to make this web site easy to understand and devoted to helping you. Please let me know if anything doesn't help you or if we can do something more that would be useful to you.
The most important factor in a person getting healthy is their personal determination and their will to be better. You have to summon that determination and then take the steps described here - we are here to help and support you."
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