Idiotic screening advice

The latest breast cancer
recommendations from a
federal task force reduced
the doctor patient relation
ship to odds and dollars.

They recommend begin
ning breast cancer screen
ings later (age 50 instead of
40), be done with less fre
quency (every other year),
and not screening after age
74 (presumably, after 74,
we “let them go….”)
These recommendations
would trim medical costs. From The Spokesman, “… the model
ing studies indicated that
the added benefit of start
ing screening before age 50
was modest….”
Simply put:
The likelihood of a woman
getting breast cancer be
tween 40 and 50 is lower
than after 50. Therefore,
missing a few positives, i.e.,
the “modest” benefit,
among women in their
40’s, is outweighed by the
savings. If that 40-some
thing woman who missed
the chance for early – and
perhaps life-saving – de
tection of breast cancer is
important in your life, it
will matter!
The American Cancer
Society and the American
Board of Radiologists dis
agree with the report. A
Harvard radiology pro
fessor referred to the task
force as “idiots.”
Let Rep. McMorris Rodgers, and
Sens. Cantwell and
Murray hear your opi
nions. Health care/in
surance reform requires
thoughtful prioritization,
tort reform, a smaller price
tag, and preservation of the
doctor-patient relation ship.

More letters by Gary Varrella

• Share cherished rightsSeptember 17, 2007