Washington Post Examines Debate About Overuse of Mammograms
The Washington Post on Tuesday profiled an "intense new debate about mammography" prompted by a "vocal cadre" of patients, cancer specialists and health care advocates who maintain that women, particularly those in their forties, "are blithely undergoing mammograms without knowing nearly enough about them." The Post reports that the "benefit of screening women in their forties remains the subject of intense dispute," as "many experts argue that women often grossly overestimate their risk of dying of breast cancer and have too much faith that mammograms can reduce that risk." However, "leading cancer organizations recommend that women routinely undergo the procedure beginning in their forties in the hopes of catching cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages," according to the Post (Stein, Washington Post, 1/6).
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