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Re: PJ Hamel
The system that has been proposed has been in place in my country, the Netherlands, for years. Our overall survival rates are not significantly worse. BUT we have a different Health Care System. ALL of us have obigatory basic health insurance, which covers mammo's for diagnostic purposes. This means that we have easy and fast access to good healthcare if we find a lump or any other symptoms that could point to breastcancer.
My tumor was found at age 44 because I went to see my GP when I felt a lump and was sent for a mammo.
So the guidelines may be right in a country with excellent care close to where people live, in combination with a good health insurance system. We all have a GP who is trained to check for health problems and refers people to specialist care when needed. That way the specialists only do the complicated staff and no routine checkups.
These new guidelines may not be the right thing for the US, where there's more poverty, more poor quality health care and where hospitals are further away from where people live. Not to mention the whole insurance issue.
Just my 2 cents
Jacqueline
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Diagnosed age 44, January 2004, 0.7 cm IDC & DCIS. Stage 1, grade 3, ER/PR pos. HER2 pos. clear margins, no nodes. SNB. 35 rads. On Zoladex and Armidex since Dec. 2004. Stopped Zoladex/Arimidex sept 2009 Still taking mistletoe shots (CAM therapy) Doing fine.
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