Need for more mammograms

A study presented in San Antonio yesterday reveals that nearly half of all women at the age in which mammographic screening is recommended are not getting annual mammograms, even though a great many have insurance to cover the cost of the exams. Moreover, the study reported, only 60% of women in the affected age groups had as many as two exams during a four-year period. The study authors note the lifetime risk for breast cancer: it will strike one in nine women.

ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan plaintively points to the recent death of Elizabeth Edwards. “She didn’t have a mammogram, and, by the time doctors found out that something was wrong, it was too late.” Dr. Whelan pointedly observes that the American Cancer Society advises all women over 40 to have annual screenings, although the U.S. Preventive Screening Task Force only goes so far as to recommend screening for women over 50 every two years. Dr. Whelan believes that annual screening is best; Dr. Ross thinks screening every two years between ages 40 and 50 suffices, annually thereafter.