Sometimes we hear or see a “national” report and think that because it is so “big” it must be true… but after talking to breast cancer patients.. an oncologist… radiologist… and breast cancer surgeon… I am convinced that some of the “facts” represented in some national reports may not be exactly what we think they are…

But this is what I do know.. If your mother, sister, best friend or wife is able to go to birthday parties or spend Christmas or Hanukkah with the family because her breast cancer was caught early enough to be cured… then you probably have your own “research” to rely on… and you probably feel a bit offended at the idea that because there aren’t enough of you who are helped by the screening… the recommendation should be changed…

I understand that something needs to be done to try to save our health care system money but for some reason to me this doesn’t seem like the best fix for it.  I have gotten into a couple of heated debates with a friend about this and I did make this statement…. It costs a lot more money to our health care system to pay for bypass surgery or hospital stay on a person who has lived their life eating fatty foods and getting no exercise than it does to perform a mammogram screening… but I doubt experts would ever recommend that people who eat unhealthy foods and are inactive should not get cholesterol screenings because they are simply lost causes and will die from heart disease anyway… because it doesn’t make sense “not” to try to prevent disease and illness if you have a tool that allows you to help save lives…

Dr. Ron Broadwell with Radiology Associates of Roanoke at Lewis Gale Medical Center says, “It may save money but it is the younger people who have the more aggressive cancers.. it’s like saying we are giving up on them.”

Dr Broadwell adds that they have one or two people per month who come in because they felt something that didn’t seem quite right and that in many cases those women have detected breast cancer.

While I understand the importance of research and science… and some of the breakthroughs we have seen in the medical community are nothing short of tremendous.. I think that sometimes we lose sight of the fact that those numbers being thrown around represent people… and lives… not just some statistic to be used flippantly to prove a point that may be popular with certain groups… it’s like saying it’s okay for a few people to die… Would you ever line up ten people and say - I’m going to be okay with one of you dying?  Are we taking a step backward with that kind of mindset?

Carilion Clinic Breast Cancer Surgeon Dr. Roxanne Davenport says, the data being used for these recommendations is mixed data and it does not look at pure invasive cancer research. She adds that it is proven that getting mammograms between 40 and 49 saves lives.

Blue Ridge Cancer Care Oncologist, Dr. Bill Fintel says, “Countless lives have been saved with mammograms combined with self breast exams.”

He says, doing the math he says it takes almost 200 exams to save a life and researchers are finding ways to cure larger tumors.  But the entire nation’s health care pattern should not be changed based on one finding.

Dr. Fintel suggests we keep doing what we are doing until the American Cancer Society weighs in.

Both A.C.S. and Komen released a joint statement and here is part of it:

“Both Susan G. Komen for the Cure and The American Cancer Society have reviewed the same data, and both will continue to recommend routine screening for women, starting at age 40.  Why? As the national statement from The American Cancer Society states, “With its new recommendations, the USPSTF is essentially telling women that mammography at age 40 to 49 saves lives; just not enough of them. The task force says screening women in their 40s would reduce their risk of death from breast cancer by 15 percent, just as it does for women in their 50s. But because women in their 40s are at lower risk of the disease than women 50 and above, the USPSTF says the actual number of lives saved is not enough to recommend widespread screening.” When asked what the ACS would say to a woman in her 40s that decided not to get a mammogram, they answered, “While women in their 40s who decided not be screened would certainly eliminate the possibility of having a false positive, they would also give up any chance of benefiting from the proven lifesaving benefits of mammography. And while the technology is not perfect, it is the best tool we have to detect breast cancer early.””

I also checked with Anthem to see if the company plans make health care coverage changes and got this statement:

“Anthem’s position will remain unchanged for the immediate future and continues to consider annual screening mammography medically necessary for women aged 40-49 years.  We will continue to review and analyze the research surrounding breast cancer and other preventive screening procedures and if appropriate, will evaluate medical policy revisions.”

I would love to hear what you think about the issue.