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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Shots - Health News

With Routine Mammograms, Some Breast Cancers May Be Overtreated

A mammographer prepares a screen-film mammography test for patient Alicia Maldonado at a hospital in Los Angeles.

November 21, 2012 The last three decades have seen a dramatic increase in early-stage, but not late-stage, breast cancers, as mammography has become routine. Some researchers are concerned that women are being treated for cancers that would never turn deadly.

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Friday, September 07, 2012

Shots - Health News

X-Ray Tests May Heighten Cancer Risk In Susceptible Women

Mammograms may pose a particular risk to women with genetic mutations that predispose them to breast cancer.

September 7, 2012 Researchers concluded that exposure to diagnostic radiation before age 30 is associated with an increased breast cancer risk in women with a certain genetic mutation. They recommend that if a girl or young woman needs diagnostic evaluation via X-ray or CT scan for any reason, she should undergo MRI, which does not use radiation.

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Thursday, September 06, 2012

Shots - Health News

How Americans Think About Screening Tests

Dr. Karen Lindsfor, a radiologist at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center, reads a mammogram in Sacramento, Calif.

September 6, 2012 There are conflicting guidelines on when women should get mammograms and mounting questions on when the PSA blood test for prostate cancer is worthwhile. We asked how people are sorting things out.

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Monday, August 20, 2012

Shots - Health News

Planned Parenthood Windfall Funds Breast Health Expansion

Radiologist Gerald Iba checks mammograms at The Elizabeth Center for Cancer Detection in Los Angeles in May 2010.

August 20, 2012 A flurry of donations to Planned Parenthood during a dispute with Susan G. Komen Foundation is fueling an expansion of breast cancer services. Planned Parenthood is stepping up education about breast health. The funds will help fund mammograms and other tests, as well as the distribution of a tool to help doctors and nurses assess cancer risk.

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Shots - Health News

Studies Reignite Mammography Debate For Middle-Aged Women

Karen Lindsfor, a professor of radiology and chief of breast imaging at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, examines the mammogram of a patient with heterogeneously dense breast tissue. Lindfors is among those doctors who say there was insufficient evidence to support the idea that additional screenings would detect cancers earlier.

April 30, 2012 In two new papers, researchers found that two types of women would benefit from regular mammograms in their 40s: those who have very dense breasts, and those who have a close relative who had breast cancer. But some scientists say the papers are misleading women and their physicians.

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Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Shots - Health News

Mammograms May Lead To Breast Cancer 'Over-Diagnosis,' Study Finds

The problem of breast cancer overdiagnosis with mammograms is similar to the dilemma faced by men diagnosed with prostate cancer because of a PSA test.

April 3, 2012 Norwegian scientists say as many as 1 in every 4 cases of breast cancer doesn't need to be found because it would never have caused symptoms or death. They also question a fundamental justification of mammography: that it finds more cancers when they're early and more curable.

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tell Me More

To Screen Or Not To Screen?

November 17, 2009 I am going to make a statement that might upset some people. Health is the one area where SOME profiling is actually helpful. It is just a fact that some ethnic groups are more susceptible to some conditions than others.

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