USPSTF Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations Could Endanger Women

Washington, DC – If followed, new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast cancer screening recommendations will result in thousands of unnecessary deaths each year and thousands more women enduring extensive and expensive treatment than if their cancer had been found early by an annual mammogram. To ensure access to mammography, Congress delayed for two years any changes to insurance coverage based on these recommendations, while breast cancer experts vet the recommendations and the process by which they were created. Women ages 40-and-older, and their families, should continue to impress upon lawmakers and their health care providers that they want fully insured access to annual mammograms. As our shared goal is to save the most lives possible from breast cancer, the American College of Radiology (ACR) and Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) continue to recommend that women get yearly mammograms starting at age 40. New American Cancer Society (ACS) breast cancer screening guidelines, and previous data used by the USPSTF to create its recommendations, state that annual screening in women 40-and-older saves thousands more lives each year than screening at a later age and/or less frequent screening. “Following these USPSTF recommendations would result in lethal consequences for thousands of women each year. A recent study in the British Medical Journal confirms that early detection of breast cancer via mammography is critical for improving breast cancer ...
Source: American College of Radiology - Category: Radiology Source Type: news