Women should be aware
of their cancer risks
The new guidelines for breast and
cervical cancer screenings are
worrisome in their lack of attention
to cancer risks in subgroups of the
population.
This oversight may put
certain women at increased...
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Women should be aware
of their cancer risks
The new guidelines for breast and
cervical cancer screenings are
worrisome in their lack of attention
to cancer risks in subgroups of the
population.
This oversight may put
certain women at increased cancer risk.
Mammography screening is effective
Mammography is designed to find breast
cancers that are too small to be detected
by other means.
We know this test
reduces mortality for breast cancer.
The
highest rate of breast cancers is found in
women who have not been screened.
The recommendation to begin this
mammography screening at age 50
makes sense for women who do not have
risk factors that make them susceptible
to breast cancer.
But women need to
know their own personal risk for breast
cancer.
For those with risk factors,
screening may need to begin earlier.
And
some subgroups of the population, such
as African-American women, seem to
have increased risk of developing breast
cancer before age 50.
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