Eye on Health - Cancer Guidelines

You may have heard the news last week that screening for breast cancer doesn't need to start unti...  More »

You may have heard the news last week that screening for breast cancer doesn't need to start until the age of 50. If you did hear that, Dr. Kenneth Keller of Trinity Health wants you to ignore it. He is passionately against the federal suggestion as you hear now in this week's Eye on Health with Perry Olson. It is pretty obvious to Dr. Kenneth Keller... (Dr. Kenneth Keller - Trinity Dept. of Radiology) "Women have a screening mammogram every year beginning at age 40. It is very simple." That is why the recommendation from the United States Preventative Services Taskforce a federal group - concerns him so... (Dr. Kenneth Keller - Trinity Dept. of Radiology) "I read this and I was simply aghast at what they were saying. I was shocked and I find it appalling. I think it is an oversight and they are playing with women's lives." What they say is that women should not be screened until age 50 not 40 and only once every two years and stop at the age of 74. Add to that stopping self checks once a month at home. But the numbers Trinity has amassed over 11 plus years show a different story. Of the 879 women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, 132 were in their 40s and 232 were older than 74. (Dr. Kenneth Keller - Trinity Dept. of Radiology) "That is 41 percent of all the breast cancer patients who we have diagnosed in the last 11 years that would not have had the benefit of mammography with we were following the guidelines set now by this federal agency." With that Keller says to keep doing what you hopefully are doing. Testing starting at 40 and the important self-check for lumps in the breast. (Dr. Kenneth Keller - Trinity Dept. of Radiology) "You do still need a mammogram, you should continue business as usual when it comes to mammography. The studies have shown over decades that there is clearly mortality reduction from early detection of breast cancer." His fear down the line that insurance companies will use this report as a way to stop covering the procedure... (Dr. Kenneth Keller - Trinity Dept. of Radiology) "Gee, we have these recommendations from the federal government so 'We are sorry Mrs. Jones, we are not going to pay for your mammogram.' So she doesn't get one, then five years later we will bury here because she is dead from something we could have found earlier on." He enthusiastically does NOT endorse these new suggestions...and cautions women from becoming complacent and not taking the protective steps to catch cancer early and hopefully live. With your Eye on Health, Perry Olson, KX News.  « Less