I was stunned when the news first came out in November, at least some high profile women are stepping up to show their dismay.....the following was taken from Fox News.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/02/02/hollywood-stars-slam-federal-mammogram-guidelines/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fentertainment+%2528Text+-+Entertainment%2529
Christina Applegate, Olivia Wilde and Rita Wilson all warn against the new guidelines for mammograms, plus Angie Harmon says she is 'overjoyed' that health care didn't get through.
Last November, a federal panel put in place “updated” mammography guidelines, recommending women delay having routine screenings until the age of 50 and counseling against the teaching of self breast examinations. But Hollywood stars are doing all they can to squash these new “recommendations.”
“I think I threw something across the room,” breast cancer survivor Christina Applegate told Tarts at the 13th Annual Unforgettable Evening benefit for the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund, when we asked about her initial reaction to the federal guidelines. “I mean, are you kidding? After me, and so many other women were out there and got [cancer] young and they had the audacity to say that. It really angered me. So much is about politics and money and it is so sad. I was 36, my mom was 38 and a lot of my girlfriends who had it are 30, 32, 28 (when diagnosed). This is not a disease of age anymore.”
But Applegate isn’t alone when it comes to warning people against this new mammography approach.
“I care very deeply about the women in my life and about preventing cancer in their lives. I’m a big proponent of early detection and early screening and I want to make sure people are educated about that,” "House" star Olivia Wilde said.
Actress Rita Wilson also admitted that she was perplexed by the whole situation.
“It’s very confusing to me, I’m up to speed on all of this and I’m confused. My theory, and this is just my opinion, is to get a mammogram starting at 40 until we have more information,” she advised. “Better to stay on the side of what tradition has been.”
However, it seems Wilson’s hubby Tom Hanks has a more progressive (or shall we say aggressive) attitude toward curing cancer.
“We're going to kick the s**t out of women’s cancer! Bleep me when I say that,” he exclaimed. “It's a big smack down between science and women’s cancers and all you need is some cash!”
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What do you think about this? Obviously, I'm on the side of early detection and prevention!
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4 comments:
I think it's all about money. The insurance companies don't want to pay for any more mammagrams than they have to. It's all very sad when we put money before human life.
Cindee
I was diagnosed at 39...less than 6% of women with breast cancer are under 40 at diagnosis. I don't care about that percentage number, that number represents women, actual lives, that's all that matters. When these revised guidelines were released, I was livid. They were based on statistics, and some rather judgmental presumptions in my opinion. I've read the panel's recommendations. They felt they were justified in part because they feel most breast cancer is found by the patient, not by screening mammography, and that some women endure unnecessary stress biopsying lesions that turn out to be benign. But what about the women whose cancers were found early through screening mammography? Even if it's only 10%...over the thousands of cases diagnosed each year, that's still hundreds of lives. The argument that this doesn't affect diagnostic mammography guidelines, only screening tests, falls flat too, as not all breast cancers form palpable lumps, and without routine screening, some would never be detected until they are advanced. A giant step backward in my opinion, and when I've asked all of my Doctors, they disagree with the guidelines too. Those Doctors that have asked for my opinion have been told 'I am a survivor, NOT a statistic'. If any woman wants a mammogram, even under 50, they should ask their Doctor. He/she is unlikely to say no. -Clare
this makes me want to throw up. I have lost 2 aunts to brest cancer. one was just 41. Routine mamograhm found it. It spread way too fast. was the estrogen hungry rapid growing kind in both ladies. in 6 months with treatment both my aunts died. Whay cant we start at 35 and save more lives?
The thing that I don't understand....surely doing mammograms must be a lot cheaper than doing away with them!
I mean, a diagnosis of breast cancer LATER, would be a whole lot more expensive for a medical system, wouldn't it?
I dunno, I don't get it.
Thank you all for sharing your life stories!
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