Breast Cancer Diagnostic Rationing

Has politics already gotten in the way of good healthcare? On Monday, a government task force said that most women don't need mammograms in their 40’s and should get one every two years starting at 50. This is a break with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position. What's more, the panel said breast self-exams do no good, and women shouldn't be taught to do them.

At a time when more and more women are finding early diagnosis of breast cancer the difference between life and death, this government task force’s findings seem insane. Is the plan to let women in their 30’s and 40’s go virtually unchecked, potentially missing any chance of early detection? If mammograms are not an effective tool, then where is the prescription of another diagnostic method? There is no mention of other scans or DNA/RNA cataloging.

False positives, and cost per life, are not a good enough reason for sticking our heads in the sand. This is politics at its worst. If this diagnostic technology doesn’t work, then why keep it for women in their 50’s? Once again, this is about conservation and reduced consumption, but this time it isn’t about light bulbs or gasoline. It’s about the lives of our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters. Washington, spend more time funding and approving better diagnostic technology and less time on rationing.

AP article