As published for USA Today on December 7, 2009:

‘We must send a strong message to private insurers and government funders: We’ll be watching for any changes to the coverage of routine mammograms and other cancer screening. Our goal should be more and better screening, not less.’

Amid the news media firestorm since the release of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations regarding mammography and breast self-exam, one fact remains undisputed: Screening saves lives. Looking carefully at the data considered by the panel, I see a call to action. We need to improve screening technology and make sure that every woman has access to it.

The new recommendations suggest no routine mammograms for women of average breast cancer risk ages 40 to 49. Among the factors cited were risk of overtreatment in this age group whose tumors might be detected on a mammogram, and the questionable nexus between breast self-exams and breast cancer mortality. The panel further discussed “anxiety” over mammograms as a factor in its decision to change its guidelines.

According to the data the panel used, we must screen 1,904 women ages 39-49 for a decadeto find one with breast cancer. A little perspective:

• One woman out of 1,900 in a town the size of Auburn, Maine, would be a little more than half a dozen women — or the entire staff at Betty Lou’s Beauty Nook.

• One out of 1,900 in New York state could fill the Metropolitan Opera to capacity, from the cheap seats to the orchestra pit.

• About 17 million people visit Disney World a year. One of 1,900 is 8,947 — or nearly 25 people a day. If that many died riding Pirates of the Caribbean daily, would anyone oppose potentially life-saving precautions?

Read the full article here