Whats the big deal about the new breast and cervical cancer screening recommendations?
New guidelines for cervical cancer screening coming close on the heels of recommendations by the US Preventive Services Task Force that routine mammographies be delayed until age 50 and then repeated every 2 years have created dicussion and apparent controversy about screening. Disclosure: Maxine knows a little about cancer because she had it seven years ago and is mercifully disease free today. For this reason, she feels she may be able to weigh in on this controversy as both a (girl) economist and as a cancer survivor. In some ways, this is similar to the controversy that arose when the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) released their report indicating hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in post-menopausal women elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, and breast cancer. Elevated risk of mortality among women taking estrogen plus progestin persisted three years after the study was halted although the causes of the death changed. In addition, women taking estrogen plus p
