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Screening for Breast, Cervical Cancer: The New Advice

February 26th, 2010 at 09:16am Under Health report

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Sometimes new health advice conflicts with old advice. Yet new guidelines last week for breast cancer testing in the United States created a storm of debate. The advice came from experts who are appointed by the government to develop guidelines for preventive services, like mammograms.

Congresswoman Sue Myrick of North Carolina is joined by other lawmakers as she discusses new guidelines for mammograms on November 18

The experts advised most women to get fewer mammograms. They said the risk of needless treatment outweighs the good from more tests. The new advice is to get tested every two years, instead of yearly, and to start at age fifty instead of forty.

The task force must not consider medical costs. But critics accused the Obama administration of trying to limit mammograms to save money.

The administration pointed out that the current members of the group were appointed during the last administration. And officials said the study had begun long before the latest debate on health reform.

The House of Representatives passed health care legislation earlier this month. And the Senate agreed Saturday to begin full debate on its own bill.

The secretary of health and human services said the new advice would not affect government policies. Kathleen Sebelius advised women to “keep doing what you have been doing.”

Some say they worry that health plans might pay for fewer mammograms now. But every state except Utah requires insurance companies to pay for testing women in their forties.

There appeared to be less reaction later in the week when a different group released new guidelines for cervical cancer testing. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the timing was just by chance.

The new guidelines say women age twenty-one to twenty-nine only need to get a Pap test every two years instead of yearly. Girls are advised to begin testing within three years of when they first have sex, or in any case no later than twenty-one.

A Pap test looks for abnormal cervical cells that could become cancer. Doctors may remove suspicious growths. But the experts say that in most cases in young women, these growths would go away by themselves. Removing them can lead to problems such as scarring and the need for Cesarean births later.

Cervical cancer is highly curable if it is found early. Pap tests have saved countless lives. Today most of the deaths are in countries with poor health care.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. For more health news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Barbara Klein.

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Debate Over New Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening

February 22nd, 2010 at 09:06am Under Health report

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

On Monday, an influential group of medical experts released new guidelines on testing for breast cancer. The guidelines are from the United States Preventive Services Task Force. Its members are appointed by the government but its recommendations are independent.

The new guidelines appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

One of the biggest changes is that the task force now advises against mammograms for most women under fifty years old. In two thousand two the group had suggested such screening tests every one to two years for women forty and older.

The new guidelines also say women between fifty and seventy-four should not get mammograms every year as currently advised. The experts now recommend testing every two years for that age group.

The task force says the new recommendations are not meant for women who have an increased risk of breast cancer.

The experts also say there is not enough evidence to decide about the benefits and harms of testing women seventy-five or older.

But the group recommends against teaching women breast self-examination. It says evidence suggests that doing so does not reduce breast cancer deaths.

Mistaken test results — called false positives — are one problem. But another problem noted by the task force is overdiagnosis. This is when doctors find and possibly treat cancers that would not have shortened a woman’s life.

Radiation exposure from breast X-rays is another consideration, though the task force says it may be a minor concern.

The task force did not suggest one form of mammography over another. It says there is not enough evidence to decide about either digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging instead of traditional film mammography.

Some doctors say the new guidelines will reduce women’s chances of needless treatments, invasive tests and harm, including psychological harm. But other doctors say they worry that the changes will reduce testing and lead to more women dying from breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society says it will continue to advise women forty and older to have yearly mammograms. But breast cancer expert Susan Love says the new guidelines are similar to those of most other countries.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. For more health news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

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