KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Alaskan cancer survivor, doctor say new recommendations are mistaken

Alaskan cancer survivor, doctor say new recommendations are mistaken

by Lori Tipton
Tuesday, November 24, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The federal government now says women under 50 who are not at high risk for breast cancer do not need yearly mammograms.

That's a major change from what medical experts have said for years to help detect breast cancer.

Some Alaskans think the government is making a big mistake.

Sheila Reilly started getting mammograms four years ago.

In 2008, her yearly screening showed something she couldn't feel -- tiny calcifications that turned out to be cancer.

"Wow, I'm 42 and I have breast cancer? It was really scary," Reilly said.

But now women like Reilly -- who are in their 40s -- are being advised not to get mammograms.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says women who are not at high risk for breast cancer can wait until they're 50 to get a mammogram -- and even then, only need to be screened every other year.

"Much of my career has been during this era where we have been having this exciting thing happening and we've been making a big difference in women's lives and I really don't want to see that reversed," says Dr. Denise Farleigh with Providence Imaging Center.

Farleigh says the task force's recommendations are irresponsible and dangerous.

"Screening works. Screening with mammography does work in women in their 40s and we do save lives and we have substantial data to support that," she said.

The task force says the science shows that starting mammograms at age 40 has no impact on death rates, and that in younger women the chance of a bad result outweighs the small benefit.

The potential harms from mammography, including radiation, can cause patients more harm than good.

"There's never been documentation that having mammograms produces breast cancer. It's always a theoretical risk with any radiation," Farleigh said.

The new recommendations are confusing patients who usually come in for their yearly screenings.

"My schedulers have called to schedule patients to come in for their follow-up mammogram and been told, 'Well, I don't have to do that now.  This government group says I don't have to do that.'" Farleigh said.

Despite what the task force recommends, Farleigh is still pushing for early prevention.

And so are some of her patients.

"Now they're embracing this as, ‘OK, if this is what the government says and I don't feel like I really need it, I'm not gonna go,' and that's too bad because like for me, I had no idea," Reilly said.

Providence Imaging Center says in the last five years more than 300 women under the age of 50 were diagnosed with breast cancer thanks to mammograms.

Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com