The release of new guidelines on mammography never fails to renew the heated controversy over the potential benefits and harms of this procedure. The latest draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) are no exception. Various expert bodies have already taken conflicting positions on them. You can have your say, too, if you hurry — public comment on the draft closes today. Screening mammography is done in healthy women to spot hidden breast cancer. Some expert groups say that women should begin having regular mammograms at age 40, others set the start age at 50. The age at which women should stop having mammograms is also disputed. The USPSTF is an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention. It is charged with making
Tag: breast cancer
Gene found that is essential to maintaining breast and cancer stem cells
The gene and hormone soup that enables women to breastfeed their newborns also can be a recipe for breast cancer, particularly when the first pregnancy is after age 30.
The cost and quality of cancer care in Health Affairs’ April issue
1. Cancer Mortality Reductions Were Greatest Among Countries Where Cancer Care Spending Rose The Most, 1995-2007.Warren Stevens of Precision Health Economics, Dana P.
Breast cancer survey: black and Hispanic women have less say in care
Study reveals racial differences in the level of involvement women have in their breast cancer care, with minorities being less active in the selection of surgeon or hospital.
Patients Work with Doctors to Make Choices About Care
By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News Rose Gutierrez has a big decision to make. Gutierrez, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last spring, had surgery and 10 weeks of chemotherapy. But the cancer is still there. Now Dr. Jasmine Wong, a surgeon at UC San Francisco, is explaining the choices: Gutierrez can either have another lumpectomy followed by radiation, or she can get a total mastectomy. “I think both options are reasonable,” Wong said. “It’s just a matter of how you feel personally about preserving your breast, how you feel about having radiation therapy.” “I’m kind of scared about that,” said Gutierrez, 52, sitting on an exam table with her daughter on a chair beside her. “Well if you made it through chemo, radiation is going