When Mammogram is Not Enough
When Mammogram is Not Enough – Recently, the American Cancer Society issued revised guidelines that suggested women who are considered higher risk for breast cancer have annual MRI’s, in addition to mammograms. An article in the Wall Street Journal discussed how ultrasound is also a test used in conjunction with mammograms. Certain conditions are not raised by the standard mammogram and these tests give doctors added information.
The trouble with mammograms
A routine mammogram can find cancers that would never have become life-threatening, subjecting women to painful and toxic treatments they never actually needed.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-breast-overdiagnosis17-2009aug17,0,5184447.story
When a Mammogram Isn't Enough
For many years, women worried about breast cancer have been given a simple prescription: annual mammograms, or X-rays of the breasts, typically starting at age 40. Now, doctors are increasingly advising some women who may be at higher risk for the disease to consider supplementing a mammogram with other, potentially more sensitive tests.
Overdiagnosis in publicly organised mammography screening programmes: systematic review of incidence trends
One in three breast cancers diagnosed in public mammography screenings is an overdiagnosed cancer that will never produce symptoms or lead to death, according to a meta-analysis by Danish researchers published July 9 in BMJ
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/jul09_1/b2587
9/6/09 The trouble with mammograms
A routine mammogram can find cancers that would never have become life-threatening, subjecting women to painful and toxic treatments they never actually needed.
