Ok I know I've been advocating getting mammograms here. And this morning my dad shared with me that when my family was waiting for me to get done with some test I was having, that in the lobby sat a young woman with tears streaming down her face and she was alone.
DON'T GO AND HAVE A MAMMOGRAM ALONE!!! I don't care if its your first, fifteenth, routine mammogram or what take someone with you.
Here's the deal, they are not going to call you in a couple of days with the results, you are going to be told on the spot, looks good or there's an abnormality. Now if there is an abnormality its not necessarily cancer. Its just means there's something on there that doesn't look like everything else. So you will either get scheduled for an ultra sound or get whisked off to have one on the spot. You are going to be told the results of that as well on the spot. Again it won't be that's its cancer or not because they really can't tell conclusively unless a biopsy is done. But, they might want to do one on the spot. So go prepared. Take someone with you to at least drive you home. AND remember that 80% of breast lumps found are NOT cancer.
So I hope I haven't scared anyone out of having a mammogram but, go in pairs please!
Do you have your mammogram buddy?
Here is some info from a FAQ regarding new mammogram guidelines on WebMD. I am posting it here because there is just so darned much conflicting information out there. What I am basically getting out of it is that I should probably start getting mammogram screenings when I hit 40 but my insurance probably won't cover it until I hit 50. Then, there's the bit about how self-exams are actually useless? So confused...
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending sweeping changes in its breast cancer screening guidelines.
The USPSTF, which is a group of independent health experts convened by the Department of Health and Human Services, reviewed and commissioned research to develop computer-simulated models comparing the expected outcomes under different screening scenarios.
Here are the USPSTF's recommendations, based on all that work:
Routine screening of average-risk women should begin at age 50, instead of age 40.
Routine screening should end at age 74.
Women should get screening mammograms every two years instead of every year.
Breast self-exams have little value, based on findings from several large studies.
But the new recommendations may leave some women confused, since the American Cancer Society continues to recommend annual mammography screening for all healthy women beginning at age 40. What's the bottom line on mammogram screening? WebMD asked breast cancer experts about the new USPSTF screening guidelines.
The new guidelines recommend against breast self-exams and question the benefits of clinical breast exams performed by health care providers. Why?
Two major studies, one from China and another from Russia, found no evidence that breast self-examinations reduced deaths from breast cancer, but that the practice leads to additional screening and biopsies.
"The self-exam data were pretty definitive," Pettiti says. "There is high certainty that there is no benefit, and there are harms which include unnecessary anxiety from finding something that isn't cancer."
But that doesn't mean a woman should ever ignore a suspicious lump.
"That definitely is not the message," Petitti says. "Anything unusual should be checked out."
The USPSTF panel concluded the current evidence is insufficient to assess the risks and benefits of clinical breast exams performed by health care providers.
Evers says she will continue to recommend breast self-exams.
"I don't think the practice is useless," she says. "For many women it is important because it helps them feel somewhat empowered and in control of their own breast health."
...Anyway, the full FAQ is here:
http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/features/new-mammogram-screening-guidelines-faq
Does anyone have an opinion on all of this?