CNN Does a Nice Job Covering the Aftermath of the Mammogram Controversy

Kudos to CNN’s Lisa O’Neil Hill for a well-balanced and thoughtful article on the mammogram controversy. Absent from the article is hyperbole and stridency that make the medical community sound like a bunch of cats and dogs. Instead of “Them’s fightin’ words” soundbites, O’Neil Hill gives a well-written summary of all the major viewpoints on the issue.  She took the time to understand everyone’s point of view, and chose quotes that illustrate the fact that this is not a fight, but an intelligent discussion about how to maximize the benefits and diminish the harms of a less than perfect screening test for breast cancer.

“The initial recommendation from the task force caused a great deal of confusion, which was unfortunate because what I think they were trying to say is, I think, something very reasonable. The way they said it and the way it came out was very unreasonable,” said Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.

“What the task force was trying to say is mammography is an imperfect screening tool and there are some harms associated with it, but there are also some benefits associated with it,” he said. “They were trying to say the benefits are not nearly as good as we would all like.”

Moyer said Brawley is on target.

“In many, many instances, our recommendation has been interpreted as a ‘don’t do it.’ That is incorrect,” she said. “It’s something that needs to be discussed on an individual basis. For some women, it will be consistent with their values to choose to have a mammogram between 40 and 50. For other women, they will choose not to, and those are both reasonable decisions.”

I strongly encourage you to read and share the article.

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