What are the changes that may be made to breast caner screening guidelines?
Washington (SmartAboutHealth) – Just recently,k the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced new guidelines in regards to breast cancer screenings. Now it appears that changes may be made to these new guidelines. The new guidelines released painted a different picture from the past in regards to when women should start to receive breast cancer screenings, and how frequently they should be receiving them. These new guidelines for women tell them to not begin to get screened for breast cancer until the age of 50. On top of that, it is also recommended that they only get screened once every 2-years. Women over the age of 75 should no longer be screened at all according to the guidelines. This is very different from past recommendations, which stated they should start getting screened at age 40, with annual screenings to follow. Many groups, such as the American Academy of Family Physicians, still have guidelines in place for screening one to every two years for women once they hit th
Recommendations for cancer screening are under review Ideas about who should be screened and how often vary widely among physicians and agencies. You’d think there could be no downside to widespread screening for cancer. But that’s not always the case. Studies on Pap smears, for example, show that atypical cells can disappear if they’re left alone, while interventions can cause scarring and interfere with later fertility. And many prostate cancers are so slow-growing that they won’t affect a man’s health, whereas cancer treatments come with adverse health effects. Faced with the pluses and minuses, doctors often don’t agree on how to screen for cancer. “Organizations send us their guidelines hoping for our endorsement,” says Dr. Doug Campos-Outcalt, who heads the development of clinical practice guidelines for the American Academy of Family Physicians, an organization representing about 94,000 primary-care doctors. Those guidelines, he notes, are frequently in conflict with one another
The new guidelines released painted a different picture from the past in regards to when women should start to receive breast cancer screenings, and how frequently they should be receiving them. These new guidelines for women tell them to not begin to get screened for breast cancer until the age of 50. Sources: SmartaboutHealth.
