Re: New Proposed Changes to Mammogram Guidelines
"Because mammography is less effective at distinguishing cancers from normal breast tissue in premenopausal women, mammograms miss cancers in some younger women and raise a false alarm in others. This can cause real harm; one woman may ignore a cancerous lump because her mammogram was normal; another may undergo an unnecessary surgical procedure because her mammogram was suspicious."
Granted, significant(albeit unpublicized) false negatives mean a clear mammo still means coninued vigilance. Did they determine how many would benefit from unnecessary biopsy? How many "unecesssary" biopsies happen for every early detection and curative surgery? That ratio would be necessary for an informed discussion of cost/benefit. Looking to the future, yes..more accurateand less harmful diagnostic tools (imaging and/or serum) would be a goal.
Santa's elves have no credible input.
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