New Guidelines for Cancer Spark Debate

By Kennika Freeman

 New guidelines for breast cancer screenings from a new federal report conducted by  the Preventive Services Task Force of the Department of Health and Human Services, have caused a stir around the country with its recommendation that women in their 40s don't need annual mammograms and that self-exams no longer should be part of a doctor's instructions to female patients. Instead, the report suggests, women ages 40 to 49 who are not in a high-risk group should wait until 50 to begin mammograms and then have them every other year.“I’m very surprised at this outcome, every woman who has ever had a mammogram knows that they’re not fun at all, however if it means my life is at stake I don’t need to think twice about whether I should get one or not,” said Lauren Williamson who is in the nursing program at BSU. However, mammograms, like dental cleanings, can be extremely uncomfortable, and some women said they were thrilled at the news.“I personally can say that I’m kind of happy about the change, I hate them so much that I tend to procrastinate when it’s that time of year for one anyway, says Erin Johnson who is an undergraduate at the university. For years, self-exams were considered essential in the fight against breast cancer. Physicians urged reluctant patients to do monthly exams. Women left doctors visits and clinics with a handy reminder; a waterproof instruction card attached with a pink ribbon to hang on their shower heads. Advocates of self-exams say there's no good reason not to do them. They're quick, and they're free. The new guidelines also say women between fifty and seventy-four should not get mammograms every year as currently advised. The experts now recommend testing every two years for that age group. The task force says the new recommendations are not meant for women who have an increased risk of breast cancer. The experts also say there is not enough evidence to decide about the benefits and harms of testing women seventy-five or older. But the group recommends against teaching women breast self-examination. It says evidence suggests that doing so does not reduce breast cancer deaths. The new guidelines have also enraged many women among African American community being so that Younger black women who get breast cancer are far more likely than other afflicted women to have a particularly aggressive and lethal form of the disease, a study found.“Breast cancer fortunately does not run in my family; however the statistics are very high among African American women like myself, so regardless of what the guidelines say I personally will continue to do myself exams on a daily basis,” says Professor Serita Kelsey who teaches Anthropology at the university. Studies show that since 1990, the average annual breast cancer death rate for younger black women in the United States has been 15.4 deaths per 100,000 population, versus 9.3 per 100,000 for younger white women.The task force's recommendations have been almost universally decried. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius advised women to keep doing what they are doing, as did Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Cancer Society. As always, know your personal risk talk to your doctor. And if she or he won't listen, find someone who will. This report should stand as a lesson in health communication and in the caution required of responsible health professionals when what's at stake is life, not just a number on a page, but rather a mother, sister, aunt, daughter, cousin, colleague or friend. Surely we can do better for them.