Making sense of Breast Cancer Screening

You have probably been reading a lot about screening mammography recently, notably http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=1669103, Outcomes of Screening Mammography by Frequency, Breast Density, and Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy.  So now, add this article to the many others showing the benefits of screening mammograms and try to make sense of them all.

The importance of the article was missed by most news reporting: that screening in young women (40-49 years) does, in the authors' words, "minimize their risk of advanced-stage disease".  Further, they point out that more mammograms mean more false positives at any age; the price of routine screening mammography.

But, in this blog, we have been talking about personalized medicine: which screening is the right choice for which woman?  Personal screening recommendation fit for her personal risk.  And now Dr Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society recommends "There may be some women who need to be screened every six months and others every two years depending on breast density, family history and genetic testing" (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/19/us-cancer-breast-mammograms-idUSBRE92I00720130319 see, in particular, paragraph five and six).

There are "guidelines" for screening for breast cancer, including one of the most powerful tools we have, mammography.

BUT, they are just guidelines.  Find out which screening plan is best for you, based on your personal history, family history and genetics.

We have the tools to enable personalized breast cancer screening for each woman and will discuss these, this week and the next.

For now, do something to lower your risk for breast cancer, because prevention is even better than early detection!  GO FOR A WALK!  And tune in tomorrow for more.


Together we can prevent at least 86,000 breast cancer cases this year!


This is general content and not personal medical advice, so check with your breast doctor.