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Current Events => General Discussion => Topic started by: bijou on November 17, 2009, 08:18:33 AM

Title: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: bijou on November 17, 2009, 08:18:33 AM
Quote
Women in their 40s should stop routinely having annual mammograms and older women should cut back to one scheduled exam every other year, an influential federal task force has concluded, challenging the use of one of the most common medical tests. In its first reevaluation of breast cancer screening since 2002, the independent government-appointed panel recommended the changes, citing evidence that the potential harm to women having annual exams beginning at age 40 outweighs the benefit.

Coming amid a highly charged national debate over health-care reform and simmering suspicions about the possibility of rationing medical services, the recommendations immediately became enveloped in controversy.

"We're not saying women shouldn't get screened. Screening does saves lives," said Diana B. Petitti, vice chairman of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which released the recommendations Monday in a paper being published in Tuesday's Annals of Internal Medicine. "But we are recommending against routine screening. There are important and serious negatives or harms that need to be considered carefully."

Several patient advocacy groups and many breast cancer experts welcomed the new guidelines, saying they represent a growing recognition that more testing, exams and treatment are not always beneficial and, in fact, can harm patients. Mammograms produce false-positive results in about 10 percent of cases, causing anxiety and often prompting women to undergo unnecessary follow-up tests, sometimes-disfiguring biopsies and unneeded treatment, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

But the American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology and other experts condemned the change, saying the benefits of routine mammography have been clearly demonstrated and play a key role in reducing the number of mastectomies and the death toll from one of the most common cancers. ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111602822.html

Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: thundley4 on November 17, 2009, 08:25:08 AM
But, wasn't one of 0Bama's reasons for healthcare reform was the fact that preventative care and testing will save money? 
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: bijou on November 17, 2009, 08:27:11 AM
But, wasn't one of 0Bama's reasons for healthcare reform was the fact that preventative care and testing will save money? 
He won, so now everyone has to shut up. Stop introducing facts into the equation.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: IassaFTots on November 17, 2009, 08:28:31 AM
 :thatsright:

I KNEW I was going to see this when I logged in this morning.  And I didn't, so I thought I would get another cup of coffee and post it, and here I come back, and lookee here!


So, having mammograms yearly from 40-50 causes undue anxiety.  We should then wait till 50, so we can have a fully grown cancer, that is too far along to be treated.  Essentially, we will be productive members of society, paying all the taxes we can, until we die.  BUT, we won't need to have any costly treatments, that might save our lives either.  Makes sense to me.  Our new healthcare system at work.  Bijou, you are in the UK, correct?  What are the recommendations regarding Mammograms there?  Just curious.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: thundley4 on November 17, 2009, 08:31:37 AM
He won, so now everyone has to shut up. Stop introducing facts into the equation.

I posted a thread from Skin's Island about this in the DUmpster.  Most of them are drinking the Kool-Aid.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: bijou on November 17, 2009, 08:34:22 AM
:thatsright:

I KNEW I was going to see this when I logged in this morning.  And I didn't, so I thought I would get another cup of coffee and post it, and here I come back, and lookee here!


So, having mammograms yearly from 40-50 causes undue anxiety.  We should then wait till 50, so we can have a fully grown cancer, that is too far along to be treated.  Essentially, we will be productive members of society, paying all the taxes we can, until we die.  BUT, we won't need to have any costly treatments, that might save our lives either.  Makes sense to me.  Our new healthcare system at work.  Bijou, you are in the UK, correct?  What are the recommendations regarding Mammograms there?  Just curious.

The NHS offers women between 50 and 70 a mammogram automatically every 3 years, after 70 you make your own appointments through a General Practitioner referral. If you want one more often then you can arrange one and pay for it yourself at a private hospital.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: IassaFTots on November 17, 2009, 08:48:07 AM
The NHS offers women between 50 and 70 a mammogram automatically every 3 years, after 70 you make your own appointments through a General Practitioner referral. If you want one more often then you can arrange one and pay for it yourself at a private hospital.

Every 3 years?  Holy smokes.  In the last year, I have personally known 4 women diagnosed with Breast Cancer, ranging in age from 39 to 78.  All are receiving treatment, two received a masectomy.  I don't know if a 3 year gap between would have made a difference or not, but I have to believe it does.  Wow.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Lord Undies on November 17, 2009, 08:59:52 AM
This is a big mistake for the socialists/commies.  This rush to change the long-set rules to fit the new games is not going as well as they expect.  

Now they are F-ing with breast cancer prevention.  This is a "conditioner" for things to come.  The problem is, practically everyone in the country knows some woman who had breast cancer or died from breast cancer.  

This is a BIG RED DAY-GLO FLAG being waved in the face of the once-complacent (or asleep) public health care fence-sitters.  The flag says "This health care crap isn't about helping people.  It's about power for the socialist/commies."
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Chris on November 17, 2009, 09:29:59 AM
My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was in high school; she had just turned 46.  She had a double mastectomy and hysterectomy done.

She's doing fine now.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: littlelamb on November 17, 2009, 12:40:06 PM
Breast cancer has such a high rate of cure if caught early this plan is insane
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: IassaFTots on November 17, 2009, 12:41:17 PM
Breast cancer has such a high rate of cure if caught early this plan is insane

Yes, but I would imagine curing costs more than just letting people die.   :sarcasm:
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: debk on November 17, 2009, 12:45:36 PM
This is bullshit.

I started having mammograms when I was 35 due to family history...my dad's mother and sister both had breast cancer.

I had 3 lumpectomies in my 40's. Thankfully all were benign, though one had "pre-cancer cells" which was enough to screw up my health insurance for 5 years.

I still have 3 places that are being "watched".

When I had my 3rd lumpectomy, a friend went in the next day for a biopsy....she's 2 yrs younger than I am. She had cancer and ended up having a double mastectomy....if she had waited until 50 to have her first mammogram...she would have been dead....as she was 44 at the time. At the time, there was no family history of cancer. She has been cancer free since...

It's hard enough to get a mammogram if a woman is younger than 40....now they want to raise it until 50?

Again...it's BULLSHIT!!!!!   :maddernhell:
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Chris_ on November 17, 2009, 01:02:28 PM
This is bullshit.

I started having mammograms when I was 35 due to family history...my dad's mother and sister both had breast cancer.

I had 3 lumpectomies in my 40's. Thankfully all were benign, though one had "pre-cancer cells" which was enough to screw up my health insurance for 5 years.

I still have 3 places that are being "watched".

When I had my 3rd lumpectomy, a friend went in the next day for a biopsy....she's 2 yrs younger than I am. She had cancer and ended up having a double mastectomy....if she had waited until 50 to have her first mammogram...she would have been dead....as she was 44 at the time. At the time, there was no family history of cancer. She has been cancer free since...

It's hard enough to get a mammogram if a woman is younger than 40....now they want to raise it until 50?

Again...it's BULLSHIT!!!!!   :maddernhell:

Welcome to government-run healthcare.........

And when one thinks about it, how expensive is a mamogram.......here they charge less than $100.......its not as though it is bankrupting the system......

doc
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: debk on November 17, 2009, 02:05:18 PM
Welcome to government-run healthcare.........

And when one thinks about it, how expensive is a mamogram.......here they charge less than $100.......its not as though it is bankrupting the system......

doc

A mammogram isn't that expensive.

However, the biopsies and followup testing can be....particularly if the biopsies are negative....what they are now calling "false positives".  :bs:

It's only being referred to as unnecessary if it's benign....well....in MY OPINION....if it's negative that's a good thing. I don't care if I had to be cut up to find out I didn't have cancer.

Beats the hell out of the alternative.

This really pisses me off.....
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: jinxmchue on November 17, 2009, 02:08:04 PM
I am going to make a standing offer to all CC ladies to do breast exams for you for free.   :evillaugh:
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Chris on November 17, 2009, 02:24:10 PM
I found this on FreeRepublic, but the poster didn't include a news article with his link...

Quote
"Money is being wasted on men's prostate exams' -- White House
Fox News Channel | 11/17/09

Posted on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 1:29:17 PM by pabianice

Yesterday, the Obama gang released a report "proving" that money can be saved on the "wasteful" use of mammography on women under 50, and that for those over 50, the exam should be given only every two years.

Today we learn that Obama is also going after men. According to Fox, Obama has decided that yearly PSA tests need not be given, as it wastes money, as does all the prostate surgery given to men with bad PSAs or other cancer red flags.

ObamaCare hasn't even passed but it's already going down. And for all my fellow seniors who voted for "Hope and Change," live with it -- for as long as you can.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388396/posts

Yeah.  So much for preventative health care lowering costs.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: bijou on November 17, 2009, 02:28:17 PM
I found this on FreeRepublic, but the poster didn't include a news article with his link...

Yeah.  So much for preventative health care lowering costs.
That must have been reported on TV because I can't find anything yet on a search of news sites.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Crazy Horse on November 17, 2009, 02:35:06 PM
I am going to make a standing offer to all CC ladies to do breast exams for you for free.   :evillaugh:

Well if jinx falls and breaks a leg  :-) I will surely continue his free service to all you wimmenz.

I'll also be availkable for all second opinions needed  :cheersmate:
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: thundley4 on November 17, 2009, 02:44:49 PM
That must have been reported on TV because I can't find anything yet on a search of news sites.

Your google-fu is weak, young Grasshopper.

I found this article (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ProstateCancerNews/story?id=7106206&page=1).

Quote
Should Men Get Prostate Cancer Screening?
Prostate Cancer Studies May Leave Men Flummoxed
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: ColonialMarine0431 on November 17, 2009, 02:55:35 PM
Remember when the Lame Stream Media scoffed at Palin's "Death Panels"? Who's laughing now DUmmies?
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: debk on November 17, 2009, 03:15:12 PM
Neal Cavuto just interviewed the sister of Susan G Komen....

it was a government task force that came to these conclusions.  :censored:

Komen's sister isn't buying it.

Cavuto did mention men's prostate screening is being reevaluated also as possibly being unnecessary.

And the liberals are worried about not having abortions paid for in the new health care bill.....

They need to be worried about appropriate breast and prostate cancer screening!!

I guess one good thing about all of this is that there are very few people of a certain age who don't know someone who has had breast cancer or prostate cancer. Maybe it will resonate with the Congress critters.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: thundley4 on November 17, 2009, 03:27:26 PM
A co-workers wife is undergoing breast cancer treatment, and she is only in her late 30's.  It was found by a mammogram that she only got because her mom and grandmother had both had breast cancer.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: debk on November 17, 2009, 03:34:41 PM
A co-workers wife is undergoing breast cancer treatment, and she is only in her late 30's.  It was found by a mammogram that she only got because her mom and grandmother had both had breast cancer.


Yep, and she probably had to beg to get the first one.

Prayers out for her and her family....
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: thundley4 on November 17, 2009, 03:59:42 PM

Yep, and she probably had to beg to get the first one.

Prayers out for her and her family....

She had more trouble convincing the doctor than the insurance company. Our insurance is pretty good about covering things.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: debk on November 17, 2009, 04:05:47 PM
She had more trouble convincing the doctor than the insurance company. Our insurance is pretty good about covering things.


that was what I meant.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Eupher on November 17, 2009, 04:20:33 PM
Mrs. E told me last night that no fewer than THREE women teachers, just this semester, were diagnosed with breast cancer. No idea about the severity with any of them, but any thinking person is going to scream  :bs:  to the liberals who try to shove this pile of shit down our throats.

Getting PSA checked for men, and colonoscopies done for both sexes, is absolutely critical to sustained health.

hey Lord Zero! Don't believe me about the PSA thing? Just check with Moon Unit Zappa, whose father Frank croaked of prostate cancer.

 :censored: asshat.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: DixieBelle on November 17, 2009, 04:27:25 PM
Yeah, an 0bama mouthpiece on the morning radio (I think her name must have been Bagdad Bob) basically said, "nothing to see here folks, move along......self exams are more effective, blah, blah......."
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Eupher on November 17, 2009, 04:29:57 PM
Yeah, an 0bama mouthpiece on the morning radio (I think her name must have been Bagdad Bob) basically said, "nothing to see here folks, move along......self exams are more effective, blah, blah......."

It's amazing how many otherwise smart people will hear that and completely gravitate toward it. Like lemmings toward a cliff...
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: thundley4 on November 17, 2009, 04:32:52 PM
Yeah, an 0bama mouthpiece on the morning radio (I think her name must have been Bagdad Bob) basically said, "nothing to see here folks, move along......self exams are more effective, blah, blah......."

I thought that they also came out against teaching women to do the self examination, or did I read that wrong?
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Celtic Rose on November 17, 2009, 04:39:32 PM
I thought that they also came out against teaching women to do the self examination, or did I read that wrong?

Nope, that is in there too.  Women are just supposed to be "breast-aware," but not worry about doing actual thorough exams  ::)

So far victims Obama's healthcare (before it is even official):

-Preventative screenings for breast cancer
-Preventative screening for prostate cancer

At least they aren't being sexist about it (/sarcasm)
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: Hawkgirl on November 17, 2009, 05:05:47 PM
And it starts...and the bill hasn't even passed.  Let the Rationing begin.

If anyone doesn't think this is bizarre, needs to get their head examined.  Prevention was the highlight of Obama's plan....but it costs money...so I wonder what other services will be recommended to be done less and less.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: IassaFTots on November 17, 2009, 08:58:15 PM
And it starts...and the bill hasn't even passed.  Let the Rationing begin.

If anyone doesn't think this is bizarre, needs to get their head examined.  Prevention was the highlight of Obama's plan....but it costs money...so I wonder what other services will be recommended to be done less and less.

I am still so pissed my head is spinning.
Title: Re: Breast exam guidelines now call for less testing
Post by: NHSparky on November 17, 2009, 09:02:01 PM
Oh, come on people--2000 pages and NOBODY discussed controlling COSTS?  Not even once?

This is GOVERNMENT!  Was anyone really surprised?