Study casts doubts on value of mammograms
By Gina Kolata, New York Times
One of the largest and most meticulous studies of mammography ever done, involving 90,000 women and lasting a quarter-century, has added powerful new doubts about the value of the screening test for women of any age.
It found that the death rates from breast cancer and from all causes were the same in women who got mammograms and those who did not. And the screening had harms: One in five cancers found with mammography and treated was not a threat to the woman’s health and did not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.
The study, published last week in the British Medical Journal, is one of the few rigorous evaluations of mammograms conducted in the modern era of more effective breast cancer treatments. It randomly assigned Canadian women to have regular mammograms and breast exams by trained nurses or to have breast exams alone.
Sounds like a study funded by the ACA to cut costs in women’s health.
Only some sort of soulless ideologue could read that article about a 25 year Canadian study concerning the devastating problems dealing with breast cancer in women and mammograms and come up with some cheap shot about the ACA. It’s like the rude and callous comments made after the recent story about the homicide at Mo’s or the shooting of the USFS officer, do you people have absolutely 0 empathy for your fellow citizens? What the hell is wrong with you people?
They believe the things they hear and read on foxnoise
go figure,
How is it that listening to the news that gives the most detailed research, a broad range of anaylisis from many points of view leads to the least informed people?
You actually believe that? Really?
Hmmmm.
Fox News, let’s see, in depth, broad and balanced discussions and commentary with a wide range of opinions.
Contrast that to MSNBC, the station of hate and anger or CNN or NBC … NPR, shallow and biased. Better known as State Run Media.
These are the TV stations that act as propagandists for the progressive liberal government that is destroying our country.
Go on you liberal sheep, keep listening to your local intellectual giants and you’ll continue to decline.
Liberals Lie – Freedom Dies. History all over again.
Regarding the study, at first blush, without going outside of the article to fact check, i must say that its conclusion of a 20% rate of cancer being found through mammograms and then treated, but were not a threat to a women’s health is a confusing concept. How is the presence of cancer NOT a threat?
The mortality rates being the same do not necessarily impugn the value of mammograms, but do suggest we take a deeper look at how we treat the disease, and the questionable and lobbyist driven politicized manner in which the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs are evaluated and approved.
Cancer is a horrible disease and people and companies should not capitalize on the fear and insecurity surrounding it.
@CJ….WOW. Thanks for setting us straight about the veracity of Fox News Corp
(how they manage to find a steady stream of overly made-up big breasted platinum blonde ‘journalists’ with such a commitment to truth is an amazing feat), and the brainwashing that results from those of us who are guilty of consuming news from a varied array of global sources. Once again i am challenged to find the right words to describe your enlightened perspective. I think I may change my political affiliation, thanks to you. You always give a sound, reasoned, balanced, logical, fact based perspective on things. You are a paragon of intellectual might and depth of thought. Now tell me, did you eat a months worth of your psych meds in just two weeks?… AGAIN?
The first 2 paragraphs of hmmm’s coments are true – and, don’t be so fast to throw mammograms out the window. It is the “treatment” that is controversial – do you really need chemo? radiation? surgery? when calcifications are found on your mammogram?
My 1995 mammogram, followed by ultrasound, identified a 1+cm tumor in my breast. It was excised, and followed by radiation. The first oncologist did not recommend that I take Tamoxifen (adjuvant therapy following other treatments); the second surgical oncologist did recommend I take it. I consulted a well-known research oncologist who advised me that Tamoxifen would not improve my risk-for-recurrence, because the type of breast cancer I had, had a 98% probability of not recurring. So, I believe that getting at least a 2nd opinion from a comprehensive cancer center doctor, and asking for options and statistics for each treatment option, are more important than whether mammogram screening has value.
BSE – Breast Self Exam has also been under fire for years. However, both BSE & mammography are screening modalities that have proven their value to the many women who were diagnosed and properly treated for breast cancer. If you read study results and medical opinions published by OTHER THAN MEDICAL JOURNALS, take your questions to your medical professional. Contrary to popular belief, you do have time to get a 2nd and/or 3rd opinion – and you should take someone with you to record consultations, take notes, and even ask more questions.
“in depth, broad and balanced discussions and commentary with a wide range of opinions.”
CJ, you mean like the recent panel they aired talking about women’s issues? The one consisting of FOUR MEN?
So? what’s your point?
Men can’t talk about women’s issues?
CJ, if any media outlet had a panel of four bleeding heart liberals speaking on Tea Party issues you’d froth at the mouth! Fair and balanced connotates equal representation of issues, something FAR from the priorities of Fox News.
Oh, were the men confrontational?
You didn’t say that. Was it un balanced? Did women come forward and say it was unbalanced? This is the first I heard of it.
When you brought it up I figured it was an informed, respectful discussion like most the stuff on Fox.
I don’t froth at the mouth, except for a few brunets over the years. More importantly I stand by my assertion of the fact that Fox News tries hard to provide in-depth details to complex issues in a respectful and diversified manner.
Capiche?
As mentioned in the full article, the VA found that PSA testing for prostate cancer was ineffective for lowering mortality rates. Dash a lot of hopes.
All too often we hang our hat on the latest gizmo in hopes for a miracle, but unfortunately long term experience then shows the gizmo to lack efficacy. Such is progress.
I would think that women are, for the most part, more qualified to discuss issues that pertain to women; their health and their bodies and reproductive rights, than men are. I certainly defer to them in conversations regarding such circumstances. What’s a brunet? Is it an example of the carefully researched, in-depth facts that Faux News provides?
So you would assume that a woman knows more about anything pertaining to a woman’s body than any man would? How absurd.
Oh, and men get breast cancer too.
As an aside, my mom had a mastectomy that came back clean. A month later, during her routine exam, the (male) doctor found a lump. It was cancerous. It eventually killed her.
Mastectomies are not necessarily the best diagnostic tool.
Blah blah blah, CJ is a plagiarist.
I have no concept of CJ’s gender, but it doesn’t seem to reflect a woman’s point of view.
CJ has opinions, and doesn’t let the facts get in the way.
Wrong but steady….if I don’t see it, it is not really there.
Tahoeadvocate…..get a life. This mammogram study predates the ACA by wide margin.
If you have nothing relevant to say, keep your fingers off the keyboard.
hmmmm…I like your perspective, and your humor re FOX. I entirely agree with your observations.
For an intelligent conversation on this topic, go to the New York Times Tuesday science section. You can find it online.
I stand by my statements regarding women, for the most part, being more qualified to make decisions regarding their reproductive care, and RIGHTS than men. They are the ones who know their motivation, they are the ones who whose bodies-and emotions- are effected by pregnancy, childbirth, rape, abortions…so yeah, call my opinion absurd. It is only an opinion…but it is born of careful thought and consideration. I in no way said that men don’t deserve a voice-though they should not dominate those conversations, and I in no way said that all women are by nature physicians, though I tend to trust female physicians more than male physicians. Corporate control over health care winds up being exclusionary, and looks for ways to deny access to treatment. Tahoeadvocate’s misleading statement is nasty and attempts to obscure who really calls the shots-BigPharma and BigInsurance. And Dogula…did your mother really use a mastectomy as a diagnostic tool? I’m really hoping that was a typo.
hmmm..-to answer your question about CJMcPubs ‘brunet’- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brunet
Thanks, TeaTotal…I had only known of the term ‘brunette.’ Though I try not to make assumptions, I admit I had assumed that he meant drooling(hubba-hubba) instead of frothing. I shoulda looked it up.
brunett- ok
petty is not a virtue
Neither is ignorance. Next time you want to post your redundant garbage about liberals, democrats, obama….remind yourself of what you just said. It is easy to see why the psuedo-intellectual lies presented as facts by Faux News is so appealing to an intellectual giant such as yourself. You seem to lack the critical thinking skills necessary to conduct your own to research. BTW…it’s ‘brunet'(masculine) or ‘brunette'(feminine). There is no ‘brunett’. That’s not petty, that’s truth.
Swing and a miss…struck him out!
I bet if the women and men who have survived breast cancer were asked if having a mammogram improved their lives, the answer would be a resounding YES. Some of the flat earth society folk just think its all in the hands of some christian diety and the people who have had their breast cancer cured by early detection might think different. Ill cast my trust with them.
The article states, “combined data from clinical trials of mammography showed it reduces the death rate from breast cancer by at least 15 percent for women in their 40s and by at least 20 percent for older women.” I am sure some Women see the value in that.