Mills-Peninsula Physicians: ‘Don’t Ditch the Mammogram’
Hospital’s breast cancer experts reiterate recommendation for yearly mammograms for women starting at age 40
BURLINGAME, Calif. (Nov. 19, 2009) – Breast cancer experts at Mills-Peninsula Health Services issued guidelines this week for patients reiterating the long-held recommendation for annual screening mammography for women starting at age 40.
The advice was a strong rebuke to the new breast cancer screening guidelines issued this week by a government task force recommending that women in their 40s should not undergo routine mammography. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said women of average risk for breast cancer should be screened once every two years, starting at age 50.
“It is a well established fact that screening for breast cancer is effective,” said Harriet Borofsky, M.D., medical director of breast imaging at Mills-Peninsula’s Women’s Center. “Early detection saves lives and increases treatment options for the many women diagnosed each year.”
Mills-Peninsula physicians are not alone in their dissent with the USPSTF’s new guidelines. The American Cancer Society, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the Society of Breast Imaging and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all issued immediate opposition to the changes in screening guidelines.
Dr. Borofsky points to data that supports the effectiveness of mammography for breast cancer screening. Since mammographic screening programs and breast centers were established in the 1990s, the mortality rate from breast cancer, which had been unchanged for the preceding 50 years, has decreased by 30 percent including all age groups, she says.
Furthermore, approximately 1.6 U.S. women in 1,000 are diagnosed with breast cancer in their 40s, many with more aggressive tumor types.
In 2008, Mills-Peninsula Women’s Center diagnosed 223 breast cancers caught by performing 20,505 screening mammograms and 6,179 diagnostic mammograms.
“The new USPSTF guidelines would result in a significant step backward in the major progress that has been made in early detection, diagnosis and management of breast cancer. We will continue our efforts to discuss these issues with our patients and to encourage annual screening mammography in women 40 and above.”
Dr. Borofsky added that Mills-Peninsula physicians make every effort to minimize patients’ anxiety and discomfort with breast cancer screening through the use of state-of-the-art imaging technology, minimally invasive biopsies and prompt communication of test results.