ridestrong 1 #1 November 17, 2009 A government task force said Monday that most women don't need mammograms in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50 — a stunning reversal and a break with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position. What's more, the panel said breast self-exams do no good, and women shouldn't be taught to do them. New breast cancer screening guidelines... good idea?*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.* ----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.---- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ridestrong 1 #2 November 17, 2009 I personally think this is a horrible idea... Let the "savings" begin.*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.* ----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.---- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #3 November 17, 2009 QuoteA government task force said Everyone should know by now that anything after that is going to be bullshit. Welcome to the Governments idea of Healthcare. And YES, It is sounds pretty stupid to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ketia0 0 #4 November 17, 2009 Bad idea... and thats all lim ganna say about that!"In this game you can't predict the future. You just have to play the odds. "-JohnMitchell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
micduran 0 #5 November 17, 2009 Welcome to government health care!Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
d_squared431 0 #6 November 17, 2009 You know I listened to the whole thing this morning. They are not saying women can't get screenings every yr. What they are saying is women under a certain age(40) have dense breast tissue which causes many false positives(abnormal results) and with those abnormal results additional test are required and even a more invasive procedure such as a biopsy. If there is a high risk of breast cancer they are still advising women to get yrly screenings. I hope this helps to clear up the half assed news report that was aired today.TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1 I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #7 November 17, 2009 QuoteYou know I listened to the whole thing this morning. They are not saying women can't get screenings every yr. What they are saying is women under a certain age(40) have dense breast tissue which causes many false positives(abnormal results) and with those abnormal results additional test are required and even a more invasive procedure such as a biopsy. If there is a high risk of breast cancer they are still advising women to get yrly screenings. I hope this helps to clear up the half assed news report that was aired today. You posted what I was about to post; I heard this on NPR this morning, too. That being said, I'd think that most people who are not medical professionals would probably not be qualified to vote in this "poll". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #8 November 17, 2009 >They are not saying women can't get screenings every yr. What they are >saying is women under a certain age(40) have dense breast tissue which causes >many false positives(abnormal results) and with those abnormal results >additional test are required and even a more invasive procedure such as a >biopsy. If there is a high risk of breast cancer they are still advising women to >get yrly screenings. That is WAY too much information to fit in a five second sound bite. Thus, it will not be discussed in the media. Instead we will hear "Government denies women cancer screenings." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timmyfitz 0 #9 November 17, 2009 QuoteA government task force said Monday that most women don't need mammograms in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50 — a stunning reversal and a break with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position. What's more, the panel said breast self-exams do no good, and women shouldn't be taught to do them. New breast cancer screening guidelines... good idea? Do you have a link to an article or a video from the news? I haven't seen it on the news but I don't watch TV news very often. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
d_squared431 0 #10 November 17, 2009 Here are two article about it. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6920166.ece http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=425656TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1 I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timmyfitz 0 #11 November 17, 2009 QuoteThat is WAY too much information to fit in a five second sound bite. Thus, it will not be discussed in the media. Instead we will hear "Government denies women cancer screenings." Do you have a link to a video that shows which news organization is reporting it like this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #12 November 17, 2009 Quote The report concludes that the modest benefit of mammograms — reducing the breast cancer death rate by 15 per cent — must be weighed against the harms. The task force concluded that one cancer death is prevented for every 1,904 women age 40 to 49 who are screened for 10 years, compared with one death for every 1,339 women age 50 to 74, and one death for every 377 women age 60 to 69. Glad all that Death Panel talk was not true. Sounds to me like this Task Force is a death panel for the women that could have been saved had they had regular Mammograms. Government Heathcare. More to come.(I do however completely agree with you on the media not telling the entire story as usual. Gotta get that Sound Bite and scare people) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,176 #13 November 17, 2009 There are risks that go along with every screening tool. Even pap smears come with a certain number of false positives. And yes, when you're talking about health measures, human life is part of the currency. But everyone includes human life in their calculations -- what is my chance of dying on this jump? What is the impact of smoking on my health? Drinking? Obesity? But do you get a full-body scan every year? Why not? What about the lives it might save? Would it be worth it if insurance covered it? The recommendations do not include women with risk factors, and any woman who wants to pay for the mammogram is still welcome to do so. Something to consider: This is not new research; other countries have gone that route in the past, and the American College of Physicians came out a couple of years ago recommending against standard annual mammograms in the 40's. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,681 #14 November 17, 2009 QuoteA government task force .... "Family doctors often abide by the task force's recommendations in their practices, and insurance companies routinely turn to USPSTF -- a panel of independent medical experts -- to guide coverage plans." More scare tactics from the right.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #15 November 17, 2009 >Sounds to me like this Task Force is a death panel for the women that >could have been saved had they had regular Mammograms. I like it! You could call it "gynecide." Get those sound bites out before anyone gets a chance to actually think about anything. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #16 November 17, 2009 I'm already disgusted that this is being politicized. Not surprised in the slightest, but disgusted nonetheless. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #17 November 17, 2009 QuoteYou know I listened to the whole thing this morning. They are not saying women can't get screenings every yr. What they are saying is women under a certain age(40) have dense breast tissue which causes many false positives(abnormal results) and with those abnormal results additional test are required and even a more invasive procedure such as a biopsy. If there is a high risk of breast cancer they are still advising women to get yrly screenings. I hope this helps to clear up the half assed news report that was aired today. When I heard it, I thought about how CPR has gotten simpler (read, dumber training for the common population) over the past couple decades. Easier, cheaper, and with less unintended consequences. But are we better off overall? I'm not so confident. If you lower expectations and requirements, people lower their effort to match. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lindsey 0 #18 November 17, 2009 I don't think it's a good idea, but I also think it's silly to blame Obama...lol. I don't think that *risks* vs. benefit are as much an issue as costs vs. benefit, though. Whether we like it or not, healthcare costs have to be a concern, and we have to use those dollars wisely. There are some women (a good friend of mine for one) who develop breast cancer before age 40 without significant risk factors. There are a few more who develop it between 40 and 50. Mammograms aren't terribly sensitive in the under 40 group -- we've known that. Over 40, breasts become less dense and mammograms are more sensitive. Obviously as you get older, mammograms are more accurate. There has to be some age at which we decide to start routine screenings. I think this decision is based on money and efficiency, basically. We get more for our buck. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people whose cancers will be missed until they're more advanced. And also unfortunately, this age group tends to be the ones with young kids, new careers....stuff like that. Like it or not, though. This is where we're headed. Better get used to it. Edited to add: of course we have to look at the over 72 group too. LOTS of breast cancers in this group. But they're the ones we're willing to let go these days, I guess. Not enough longevity to preserve with routine screening.... linz-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #19 November 17, 2009 QuoteQuoteA government task force .... "Family doctors often abide by the task force's recommendations in their practices, and insurance companies routinely turn to USPSTF -- a panel of independent medical experts -- to guide coverage plans." More scare tactics from the right. More "we know what's best for you" from the left. Quote"Not screening all women in their 40s and every other year in their 50s is an opportunity to miss some cancer and miss saving lives," said Dr. Elizabeth Fontham, dean of the Louisiana School of Public Health and the national volunteer president for the American Cancer Society. "I certainly think it is going to confuse women, and that's unfortunate." The American College of Radiology called the guidelines "a step backward," and added that they "represent a significant harm to women's health."Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #20 November 17, 2009 >More "we know what's best for you" from the left. So you want to mandate X-rays and biopsies for women because YOU know best? Will you be the one to hold the woman down as an unnecessary biopsy is done? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #21 November 17, 2009 Quote>More "we know what's best for you" from the left. So you want to mandate X-rays and biopsies for women because YOU know best? Will you be the one to hold the woman down as an unnecessary biopsy is done? Nice strawman - show where I advocated that.Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,176 #22 November 17, 2009 The American College of Physicians has come out recommending that women 40-49 be taken on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically screening. This was a couple of years ago, so it wasn't motivated by current health care reform issues. I can't be completely unbiased here (I'm high risk, and I'm over 50 -- I get them regardless), but I think that as long as it's possible for mammography to be used when there are reasons for it, having the guideline change isn't that awful. And if other groups were coming out on this side a couple of years ago, it's not entirely politically motivated. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #23 November 17, 2009 Quote The American College of Physicians has come out recommending that women 40-49 be taken on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically screening. This was a couple of years ago, so it wasn't motivated by current health care reform issues. I can't be completely unbiased here (I'm high risk, and I'm over 50 -- I get them regardless), but I think that as long as it's possible for mammography to be used when there are reasons for it, having the guideline change isn't that awful. And if other groups were coming out on this side a couple of years ago, it's not entirely politically motivated. Wendy P. Hi Wendy - I agree, it's not entirely politaclly motivated, I was just pointing out that there ARE medical groups that think this isn't such a great idea, that's all. Well, that and poking at John's "fearmongering" crack. Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,476 #24 November 17, 2009 >Nice strawman - show where I advocated that. The same place "the left" told women they couldn't get mammograms before they are 50. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #25 November 17, 2009 Quote>Nice strawman - show where I advocated that. The same place "the left" told women they couldn't get mammograms before they are 50. I don't recall any of the articles stating that - can you point that out?Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
