Why the Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Won’t Save More Women
A national health panel has recommended (JAMA 2024) lowering the age for routine screening mammograms by 10 years, now advising women ages 40 to 74 at average risk of breast cancer to get screened every two years. Previously, the guidance from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force was for women to make individual screening decisions in their 40s but start no later than 50. Dr. Carol Mangione, previous task force chair, said, “This new recommendation will help save lives and prevent more women from dying due to breast cancer.” The guidelines raise the question of whether another decade’s worth of mammograms—which involve placing the breast in a machine and pressing it with up to 45 pounds of pressure ( pdf ) while blasting it with ionizing radiation—is the best way to prevent more deaths from a disease that can be caused by exposure to radiation? Does Mammography Lead to Better Outcomes? A previous Epoch Times article titled “ The Business of Breast Cancer: Mammogram Risks ” repo...