The American Cancer Society Changes Guidelines

cinnamonsmile
cinnamonsmile Member Posts: 1,187 Member
edited October 2015 in Breast Cancer #1

https://www.yahoo.com/health/in-shift-cancer-experts-suggest-fewer-mammograms-152825571.html

I totally disagree with the ACS recommending women start getting mammograms at age 45 instead of age 40. There are how many women on this site and breastcancer.org that got cancer diagnosed between 40-45 years of age????

Also, 55 and older are recommended getting mammos every other year.

Sure it's fine for those that won't get cancer, but I think it is devastating to those that do and might go on undetected!

There is a woman in my Livestrong class who is in her late 50s and skipped her yearly mammogram and found out the next year she was stage 3A.

Comments

  • Lilly9
    Lilly9 Member Posts: 155
    #2
    Totally agree.   I was pretty

    Totally agree.   I was pretty shocked when I read it.  If anything I would like to see testing start sooner.  

  • tufi000
    tufi000 Member Posts: 745 Member
    #3
    the details

    If you read the details it pertains to ladies with normal risk.  The rest of us stay the same.  The REAL issue is every time this comes up, why hide the fact that it is a ploy by the insurance companies to get out of paying for it to the extent they do now.

  • cinnamonsmile
    cinnamonsmile Member Posts: 1,187 Member
    #4
    tufi000 said:

    the details

    If you read the details it pertains to ladies with normal risk.  The rest of us stay the same.  The REAL issue is every time this comes up, why hide the fact that it is a ploy by the insurance companies to get out of paying for it to the extent they do now.

    tufi i agree with you except

    tufi i agree with you except when I was diagnosed, I was an early 40s lady with normal risk...

    I agree that it is the big money in the insurance companies wanting to dictate health care, but I was suprised that The American Cancer Society has gone along with them :(

     

  • tufi000
    tufi000 Member Posts: 745 Member
    #5
    cinnamonsmile said:

    tufi i agree with you except

    tufi i agree with you except when I was diagnosed, I was an early 40s lady with normal risk...

    I agree that it is the big money in the insurance companies wanting to dictate health care, but I was suprised that The American Cancer Society has gone along with them :(

     

    Yeah Cinn

    Both my niece and her mom were dx in their 30's and are doing fine.  The ACS didn't surprise me. They are not medically accountable and have to protect their big donors.

  • button2
    button2 Member Posts: 421
    #6
    I'm shocked by this

    I live in Europe and we get mammograms and pap tests once a year after 40, in many cases earlier. Like my daughter will start around 25 since she now has a risk factor (me). Getting a mammogram just saved my sister's breast in August....

    It's a shame that the wonderful scientific knowledge coming out of the US to all of us cancer patients around the world (my chemo was American made) cannot be used to help your own citizens in the proper time frame for the best results....

  • joannstar
    joannstar Member Posts: 403 Member
    #7
    Very disappointed

    with ACS for their new recommendations. I was normal risk and 57 at time of diagnosis of Stage 1 TNBC. I can't imagine the stage had I been told to skip my mammo that year.

    I've been reading alot about the "overtreatment" of BC, but let's be clear, this has nothing to do with Obamacare! I am so tired of everything being blamed on Obamacare which allows millions to have health insurance that they would never have had.

    Similar recommendations for annual pap smears...my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cervical cancer at 83--perhaps if she had continued annual pap smears she would have lived past 86.

    I wish that our opinions had more impact.

    Just my 2 cents.

    Hugs,

    JoAnn 

  • camul
    camul Member Posts: 2,537
    #8
    tufi000 said:

    Yeah Cinn

    Both my niece and her mom were dx in their 30's and are doing fine.  The ACS didn't surprise me. They are not medically accountable and have to protect their big donors.

    I agree with you both

    It is all about the money.  Look at who sits on these boards.  There is usually some conx to the pharmaceutical, or insurance industry. Same with the FEW.  I too, was 42 when dx`d w/bc.initially.  22 when dx`d, w/cervical cancer.  With cervical, my family Dr. Scottsdale`d me, had his reason for why I got it.  First said too many partners, wrong. Then said, had relations too young, wrong.  Then said PVP virus, that too was clear.  Then he realized he couldn't yr e at me, sent me to gyno who specialized in female troubles.  He explained all the misconceptions, especially among older doctors concerning woman's issues.  Back then 1980, they treated s o many woman's issues with birth control pills (that was a miracle drug for woman's issues).  Now they are saying because of all the birth control, and the high doses we are seeing more and more women with female cancers, breast, uterine, cervical and ovarian.  

    Knowing this, and researchers and doctors treating those of us with the life threatening gal ppl outs from these miracle treatments of the 70's - 90's, it just amazes me that these doctors don't stand up and fight for us. I have read so many articles stating there could be an increase s e in the number of these cases increasing with the baby boomers, then they hope to see a down slide bcuz the dosing of birth control pills went down. Use to be the normal birth control dose was Ortho Novum 50's (.5).  Now the normal bc dose is .025 being a safe, yet effective dose.  I had endometriosis and my Dr. Would have me take 2 or 3 a day for up to a week sometimes to control the bleeding and pain.  So it was somewhat effective in treating the endometriosis, but look where I am now.  And just the normal birth control dosage for that whole generation, has put everyone who was on the pill at a much higher risk of women's cancers.

    But how do we get the doctors who are treating all of us, whether it be our oncologists or gynecolgists to stand up to the insurance companies, FAR, MAC, etc.  They have pull.  Too bad t her  is social media now for some things.  The protests and walks to Washington to get points across was effective.  Hard to deny seeing thousands marching in Washington D.C.  Easier to ignore internet protests when there are no faces or bodies to overwhelm our government with the sheer numbers.

    I would have made a good protester for causes Ibelieved in! (Lol)

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