Breast Cancer Conundrum

Have you heard the news? The Preventative Care Task Force says that you don't need mammograms till age 50 and that self exams are a waste of time. Whew! That's a doozy of a recommendation there. That's the kind of thing that causes the public to heave a collective sigh and say, "scientists are idiots that can't make up their minds".

Here's the problem from my perspective. The scientists are looking at the big picture. I mean the really big picture. They are looking at huge groups of people statistically. For my money, a false positive is way better than a non-discovered cancer. On an individual level, for me and the women I care about, I think a self exam and a mammogram is a better bet.

The minuscule bit of improvement in survivorship is worth it. After all, death is pretty permanent.

NPR article