Barbara Glickstein, host of NPR’s “Healthstyles” and Public Health Nurse Executive, on the Current Controversy
The release of a report suggesting that women should begin regular mammograms at 50 instead of forty shouldn’t obscure the fact that women over fifty should most definitely be conscientious about scheduling annual mammograms:
Here is what I wrote last month (see “Five Ways to Make Fall Work for You – Remember Good Health is about Maintenance):
“Older age is the single greatest risk factor for breast cancer in women. According to the American Cancer Society (1999), breast cancer risk increases from 1 in 67 at age 40 to 1 in 25 at age 70, and the incidence continues increasing to age 80. More than one-half of all breast cancers occur in women age 65 or over. Mammography screening has been demonstrated to reduce breast cancer mortality, especially among women in the age group 50-74 compared with those without mammography.”
Barbara Glickstein’s analysis of the current controversy, posted on the Women’s Media Center website (www.womensmediacenter.com), is the smartest I’ve read yet:
“As a feminist health activist who has followed the debates over mammography since the technology was introduced in the 1970s, I’m convinced that the current controversy has resulted from the premature promotion of mammography to younger women. Both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute had recommended mammography for women ages 35 and older—before any research supported the advice. There was considerable controversy then, and a widespread belief that the recommendation to extend screening to women under 50 depended less on evidence than on politics.
What the new guidelines state is that baseline mammography should start at 50, not at 40. They don’t say never do it from 40 to 50 but just don’t automatically do it. Dr. Susan Love stated it clearly, “Mammography is not a good tool for finding breast cancer in younger women and we need to put our efforts to finding something better. Young women’s breasts are more sensitive to low dose radiation and starting yearly mammograms at 40 will cause as many breast cancers as it will find. With age the breast sensitivity to radiation becomes less and mammograms become more accurate and so it becomes worth it.”
Read the entire article at www.womensmediacenter.com. The Women’s Media Center makes women visible and powerful in the media. Led by its president, Jehmu Greene, the WMC works with the media to ensure that women’s stories are told and women’s voices are heard.