By Lindsey McCoy
The American Cancer Society has released new guidelines for breast cancer screening. Among the changes, the new recommendations say all women should begin having yearly mammograms at age 45, and can change to having mammograms every other year beginning at age 55.
But this new change, while a relief to some, brings confusion to the issue, and angers some survivors. The confusion comes from the face that three key groups -- the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Cancer Society, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- recommend different ages for starting regular mammograms: 40, 45 and 50 respectively. The reason for that? Everyone agrees that while mammograms save lives, they can also cause harm, and each group does a different job of balancing the pros and cons.
The new American Cancer Society recommendations
• Women with an average risk of breast cancer - most women - should begin yearly mammograms at age 45.
• Women should be able to start the screening as early as age 40, if they want to.
• It's a good idea to start talking to your health care provider at age 40 about when you should begin screening.
• At age 55, women should have mammograms every other year - though women who want to keep having yearly mammograms should be able to do so.
• Regular mammograms should continue for as long as a woman is in good health.
• Breast exams, either from a medical provider or self-exams, are no longer recommended. Still, the American Cancer Society says all women should be familiar with how their breasts normally look and feel and report any changes to their health care provider right away.
• The guidelines are for women at average risk for breast cancer. Women at high risk - because of family history, a breast condition, or another reason - need to begin screening earlier and/or more often.
Talk to your medical provider to be sure.
Earlier testing is not necessarily better
The goal of screening mammograms is to find breast cancer early, when treatment is more likely to be successful. But mammograms aren't perfect, and they have a relatively high false positive rate. In these cases mammograms find something suspicious that turns out to be harmless, but must be checked out through more tests that also carry risks including pain, anxiety, and other side effects. Experts weigh these benefits and risks when making recommendations about who should be screened.
An exhaustive review of the medical literature shows these measures just aren't very effective, according to the group. "The chance that you're going to find a cancer and save a life is actually very small," said Dr. Otis Brawley, the society's chief medical officer.
The chances of false positives are especially high for women under 45, as they have denser breasts and tumors are harder to spot on an image. "If she starts screening at age 40, she increases the risk that she'll need a breast cancer biopsy that turns out with the doctor saying 'You don't have cancer, so sorry we put you through all this,'" Brawley said.
He said he knows women who've had false positives year after year. "False positives are a huge deal," he said. "These women are so frightened and inconvenienced they swear off mammography for the rest of their lives."
"We know that debates will continue about the age to start mammography," said Dr. Wender. the Society's Chief Cancer Control Officer, "This guideline makes it so clear that all women by age 45 should begin screening - that's when the benefits substantially outweigh the harms."
New guidelines have their critics
While agreeing with the American Cancer Society that mammograms aren't perfect, according to an CNN interview some advocates for women criticized the group's new guidelines. First, they said the society looked mostly at studies of film mammography, which in the United States has almost been entirely replaced by digital mammography.
Digital mammograms generate clearer images and do a better job of finding cancer and have a lower false positive rate. "It's like standard versus HD TV," said Dr. Therese Bevers, the chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's guidelines panel for breast cancer screening and diagnosis, and the medical director of the Cancer Prevention Center at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Second, critics said the cancer society looked only at whether screening saved a woman's life, and not at whether screening caught a cancer early, so the woman could avoid the most drastic treatments, such as chemotherapy or mastectomy.
"The American Cancer Society made the value judgment that screening is only worth it if improves survival," said Dr. Marisa Weiss, a breast cancer survivor and president of Breastcancer.org. "There's an arrogance to that. Let women decide what's meaningful to them."
Insurance companies will make the final decision
While the new guidelines state that women over age 55 can choose to get a mammogram every other year, since breast cancers in post-menopausal women tend to develop more slowly to a great extent it will be insurance companies that decide at what age women get mammograms. In 2009, they typically continued to pay for mammograms starting at age 40 even though the government's task for force recommended mammograms starting at age 50.
But it's not clear what they'll do now that the American Cancer Society has also raised the age for mammograms. "(Insurance) plans will certainly take these updated recommendations into account when evaluating their coverage policies," Clare Krusing, a spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, wrote to CNN.
Talk to your doctor
For now the best way to know when to begin screening for mammograms and how often to get screenings is to talk to your medical provider.
• Begin talking to your medical provider about breast cancer screening by age 40.
• Share your family history and personal medical history to determine whether you are at average risk or higher risk for breast cancer.
• Understand the benefits, risks, and limitations of breast cancer screening. Mammograms will find most, but not all breast cancers.
For leading medical news and career advice from top medical recruiters visit, http://www.medcareernews.com
Article Source: New Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screens Makes Some Happy, Some Mad and Most Confused
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Monday, 4 May 2015
Getting an Expert Cancer Second Opinion
By Brendan Bye Harris
Getting an oncology second opinion is relatively straight forward. How you go about this needs some careful consideration as it may have a negative effect on your cancer care or cancer prognosis.
Probably the easiest method is to ask your cancer specialist to refer you to another cancer specialist. Your cancer specialist is most likely to know who is most qualified to review your case. Although this is the easiest method it needs careful consideration the following reasons. There is no guarantee your cancer specialist will send you to the most appropriate doctor to review your case. They could just send you to someone they know or trained with. If this is the case, this doctor is likely to share the same approach to cancer medicine as they do. They are also likely to refer you to someone local or even at the same hospital. Although this may be most convenient for you, it may not be the best second opinion. The trust between yourself and your cancer specialist may be effected by asking for a second opinion. Although every cancer specialist wants you to be happy with the treatment plan, at a sub-conscious level the doctor patient relationship may be effected. Most importantly asking for a second opinion in this way may affect your prognosis as it may cause delays in you receiving your cancer treatment. There are very strict guidelines as to time scales from initial referral, diagnosis and treatment. Sometimes after the patient has had their second opinion, the cancer has developed or spread and the treatment can turn from radical (curative) to palliative.
Read also: The Various Types of Healthy Foods for Cancer Patients
You can also ask your GP to refer you to another cancer specialist. This is also fairly straight forward, but again has some disadvantages so needs careful consideration. The GP is unlikely to know the best cancer specialist to send you to. If you are going to ask your GP for a second opinion referral, then it is best you do your own research to find who you would like to be referred to. You could then ask the GP to refer you to a specific specialist. How you approach the research will be challenging. Even if you find a doctor who you believe is 'the best' they may not accept or have the capacity in their busy schedule to see another patient. Therefore, if you do choose this route then take a couple of options to your GP to avoid disappointment. Like with the above option, there is a real risk that delays will occur in your treatment pathway that may affect your prognosis.
Getting a private second opinion from the leading doctors in the country is a sensible approach, but you will of course have to pay for this. The advantage is that they will know who is considered the leading doctor treating your type of cancer. They will also be able to give you independent information on every aspect of your treatment so far and what options are available to you, going forward to the future. Some services will provide you with information regarding clinical trials that you may be eligible for and even search for trials internationally. Some second opinion services will also supply you with the information you were given in the consultation that you can take away the same day.
The 4th option is not to get a second opinion. You may be happy with the treatment plan proposed by your cancer specialist. Most cancer patients are discussed in a multi-disciplinary meeting (MDT) so it is likely that you will offered treatment that conforms to national guidelines.
Whatever decision you make will be the right decision as long as you have given it adequate thought.
For more information on Oncology Second opinion contact Belgravia Oncology - London http://www.belgraviaoncology.com/ http://www.belgraviaoncology.com/Oncology_Second_Opinions/Cancer_Second_Opinion/Cancer_Second_Opinion.html
Article Source: Getting an Expert Cancer Second Opinion
Getting an oncology second opinion is relatively straight forward. How you go about this needs some careful consideration as it may have a negative effect on your cancer care or cancer prognosis.
Probably the easiest method is to ask your cancer specialist to refer you to another cancer specialist. Your cancer specialist is most likely to know who is most qualified to review your case. Although this is the easiest method it needs careful consideration the following reasons. There is no guarantee your cancer specialist will send you to the most appropriate doctor to review your case. They could just send you to someone they know or trained with. If this is the case, this doctor is likely to share the same approach to cancer medicine as they do. They are also likely to refer you to someone local or even at the same hospital. Although this may be most convenient for you, it may not be the best second opinion. The trust between yourself and your cancer specialist may be effected by asking for a second opinion. Although every cancer specialist wants you to be happy with the treatment plan, at a sub-conscious level the doctor patient relationship may be effected. Most importantly asking for a second opinion in this way may affect your prognosis as it may cause delays in you receiving your cancer treatment. There are very strict guidelines as to time scales from initial referral, diagnosis and treatment. Sometimes after the patient has had their second opinion, the cancer has developed or spread and the treatment can turn from radical (curative) to palliative.
Read also: The Various Types of Healthy Foods for Cancer Patients
You can also ask your GP to refer you to another cancer specialist. This is also fairly straight forward, but again has some disadvantages so needs careful consideration. The GP is unlikely to know the best cancer specialist to send you to. If you are going to ask your GP for a second opinion referral, then it is best you do your own research to find who you would like to be referred to. You could then ask the GP to refer you to a specific specialist. How you approach the research will be challenging. Even if you find a doctor who you believe is 'the best' they may not accept or have the capacity in their busy schedule to see another patient. Therefore, if you do choose this route then take a couple of options to your GP to avoid disappointment. Like with the above option, there is a real risk that delays will occur in your treatment pathway that may affect your prognosis.
Getting a private second opinion from the leading doctors in the country is a sensible approach, but you will of course have to pay for this. The advantage is that they will know who is considered the leading doctor treating your type of cancer. They will also be able to give you independent information on every aspect of your treatment so far and what options are available to you, going forward to the future. Some services will provide you with information regarding clinical trials that you may be eligible for and even search for trials internationally. Some second opinion services will also supply you with the information you were given in the consultation that you can take away the same day.
The 4th option is not to get a second opinion. You may be happy with the treatment plan proposed by your cancer specialist. Most cancer patients are discussed in a multi-disciplinary meeting (MDT) so it is likely that you will offered treatment that conforms to national guidelines.
Whatever decision you make will be the right decision as long as you have given it adequate thought.
For more information on Oncology Second opinion contact Belgravia Oncology - London http://www.belgraviaoncology.com/ http://www.belgraviaoncology.com/Oncology_Second_Opinions/Cancer_Second_Opinion/Cancer_Second_Opinion.html
Article Source: Getting an Expert Cancer Second Opinion
The Various Types of Healthy Foods for Cancer Patients
By Alina Brown
You can find out that treatment of cancer has damaged your taste buds to a great extent. You may either find the food to be tasteless or you may find the food to be too salty or too sweet. It is vital to remember that a cancer patient should eat proper foods during the treatment. Plus, you should continue to eat proper food, even after the completion of the treatment. A healthy diet allows you to maintain proper body weight as well as to increase your stamina to tolerate the harmful side effects of this type of treatment. Healthy diet also helps you to recover from the disease within a short span of time. This article will highlight on a few important foods that are prescribed for those who are afflicted with cancer disease.
Oily Fish
If you eat oily fish, you can consume an adequate amount of omega 3 fatty acids that prevent body inflammation and they also increase to reduce the generation of harmful hormones such as eicosanoids that cause inflammation in your body and that cause a lot of irritation. Plus, omega 3 fatty acids help in increasing the length of telomeres, essential parts of human cells, which are responsible for decreasing the length of telomeres due to cancer disease. Reduction of telomeres affects the DNA structure and decreases longevity of a cancer patient. Plus, oily fish contains adequate amount of vitamin A, which plays a vital role during cancer treatment.
Read also : Breast Cancer Awareness Is Only a First Step
Carrot
Carrot contains a special type of anti-cancerous compound such as beta carotene that often gets converted to vitamin A that proves to be helpful for you. If you eat a mixed fruit juice that involves two or three pieces of carrots and two pieces of apples then you will be able to eliminate the side effects of this type of treatment to a large extent.
Pumpkin Seeds
You should mix an adequate amount of sunflower seeds with corn flakes and you should eat this healthy meal during breakfast regularly. Within a short span of time you will observe a positive change in your health condition. You will be able to fight this type of disease in the best possible way. Pumpkin seeds contain vitamin E that is effective in the reduction of the growth of cancer cells and this type of vitamin also improves your immune system to a great extent.
Broccoli
Like other vegetables such as cabbage, sprouts, kale, broccolis contain fibrous elements that help in the elimination of toxins from your body. Plus, broccoli contains a special type of compound, that along with Diindolylmethane hormone reduces the action of oestrogen hormones and it also helps to fight cancer disease.
Garlic
Garlic contains active compound such as allicin that is helpful in prevention of the spread of this type of disease in diverse ways. For example, it prevents the supply of blood to body that cause harmful tumor in the body. It also prevents inflammation inside the body. Plus, garlic contains ingredients such as selenium as well as tryptophan that allow you to fight cancer in the best possible way.
Indian Grocery is a famous online store that is dedicated on selling a wide array of [http://indiangrocery.com/]organic Indian groceries, snacks as well as different types of domestic items. Do you wish to purchase [http://indiangrocery.com/Frozen-Foods/Sweets/]Indian sweets online? Contact the popular Indian sweet manufacturers such as Haldirams, Grand Sweets or other famous brands of food industry of the country at affordable rates.
Article Source: The Various Types of Healthy Foods for Cancer Patients
You can find out that treatment of cancer has damaged your taste buds to a great extent. You may either find the food to be tasteless or you may find the food to be too salty or too sweet. It is vital to remember that a cancer patient should eat proper foods during the treatment. Plus, you should continue to eat proper food, even after the completion of the treatment. A healthy diet allows you to maintain proper body weight as well as to increase your stamina to tolerate the harmful side effects of this type of treatment. Healthy diet also helps you to recover from the disease within a short span of time. This article will highlight on a few important foods that are prescribed for those who are afflicted with cancer disease.
Oily Fish
If you eat oily fish, you can consume an adequate amount of omega 3 fatty acids that prevent body inflammation and they also increase to reduce the generation of harmful hormones such as eicosanoids that cause inflammation in your body and that cause a lot of irritation. Plus, omega 3 fatty acids help in increasing the length of telomeres, essential parts of human cells, which are responsible for decreasing the length of telomeres due to cancer disease. Reduction of telomeres affects the DNA structure and decreases longevity of a cancer patient. Plus, oily fish contains adequate amount of vitamin A, which plays a vital role during cancer treatment.
Read also : Breast Cancer Awareness Is Only a First Step
Carrot
Carrot contains a special type of anti-cancerous compound such as beta carotene that often gets converted to vitamin A that proves to be helpful for you. If you eat a mixed fruit juice that involves two or three pieces of carrots and two pieces of apples then you will be able to eliminate the side effects of this type of treatment to a large extent.
Pumpkin Seeds
You should mix an adequate amount of sunflower seeds with corn flakes and you should eat this healthy meal during breakfast regularly. Within a short span of time you will observe a positive change in your health condition. You will be able to fight this type of disease in the best possible way. Pumpkin seeds contain vitamin E that is effective in the reduction of the growth of cancer cells and this type of vitamin also improves your immune system to a great extent.
Broccoli
Like other vegetables such as cabbage, sprouts, kale, broccolis contain fibrous elements that help in the elimination of toxins from your body. Plus, broccoli contains a special type of compound, that along with Diindolylmethane hormone reduces the action of oestrogen hormones and it also helps to fight cancer disease.
Garlic
Garlic contains active compound such as allicin that is helpful in prevention of the spread of this type of disease in diverse ways. For example, it prevents the supply of blood to body that cause harmful tumor in the body. It also prevents inflammation inside the body. Plus, garlic contains ingredients such as selenium as well as tryptophan that allow you to fight cancer in the best possible way.
Indian Grocery is a famous online store that is dedicated on selling a wide array of [http://indiangrocery.com/]organic Indian groceries, snacks as well as different types of domestic items. Do you wish to purchase [http://indiangrocery.com/Frozen-Foods/Sweets/]Indian sweets online? Contact the popular Indian sweet manufacturers such as Haldirams, Grand Sweets or other famous brands of food industry of the country at affordable rates.
Article Source: The Various Types of Healthy Foods for Cancer Patients
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