Shocking! Docs IGNORING Cancer Guidelines

By Natalie Moore Posted April 18, 2017

Dear Living Well Daily Reader,

It’s a routine that millions of American women follow every year.

You get a reminder in the mail that it’s time for a mammogram… and you head in for an appointment.

But it turns out that lots of women are getting mammograms far more often than they should.

And the test could be doing more harm than good.

A shocking study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that physicians are routinely ignoring national breast cancer screening guidelines.

They’re over-testing women and exposing them to lots of risk (and radiation) for practically nothing.

Fortunately, there are a couple steps you can take to keep yourself safe.

Breast cancer screening suggestions come from two major organizations.

One being the American Cancer Society, which recommends mammograms every two years for women ages 45 to 55.

And the other is the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which recommends screening every two years from age 50–74.

However, a survey recently conducted by the Breast Cancer Social Networks study (CanS-NET) found that 81 percent of primary physicians were grossly disregarding these guidelines.

They were suggesting mammograms to women ages 40 to 44 years old, and telling women they should be coming in annually (instead of every other year).

Even worse, 52 percent were still recommending mammograms for women 75 and older, who shouldn’t be getting them at all!

This means your doc could be ignoring protocol and putting you in harm’s way every year!

And all this over-testing can lead to misdiagnosis, additional testing, and even radiation exposure — all good reasons to ensure your doctor is following protocol.

So, the next time your doctor suggests a mammogram, be sure to inquire whose (if any) guidelines they’re following.

Or if you’re in an age group that’s not suggested, let your doctor know and ask why they are recommending this test.

And finally, one of the best ways to detect breast cancer is with a monthly self-exam. Click here to find out how the self-exam works. 

Live well,

Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily

Ed. Note: Please send your feedback: feedback@livingwelldaily.com – and click here to like us on Facebook.

Sources

^[1] Clinicians Not Following Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

^[2] Self Breast Exam

^[3] Risks

Written By Natalie Moore

Natalie Moore is a dedicated health researcher with a passion for finding healthy, natural, and science-based solutions. After a decade of direct healthcare experience in western and natural medicine, she was involved in public health research before joining Living Well Daily.

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