New guidelines say women don’t need pap test until 21 and mammograms until 50, many women and their doctors say these guidelines are dangerous, but are they really?
By Militza Richard
Earlier this week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force set the healthcare world on fire with its assertion that women don’t need to get yearly mammograms starting in their 40s and should get one every two years beginning in their 50s.
This recommendation has infuriated many women and some healthcare professionals who say that early screenings save lives, and the American Cancer Society has vowed to stand by its advice that annual screening begin at age 40 for women of average risk. Meanwhile, the GOP has taken the task force’s assertion as an example of government rationed healthcare.
Today, in a seeming coincidence, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) has announced that women can delay their first Pap test for cervical cancer until they turn 21 and can wait longer in between screenings.
In reaching these recommendations, both groups say that they determined the tests caused more harm than good. Early, frequent mammograms often lead to false-positive readings and unnecessary biopsies, without substantially improving the odds of survival for women under 50 said the task force.
The ACOG echoed this sentiment for cervical cancer screenings, concluding that more frequent testing did not catch significantly more cancers but caused women to deal with unnecessary stress and potentially harmful treatments because of suspicious growths that would not cause problems.
These assertions are merely recommendations. The real test is whether or not doctors and insurance companies will embrace these guidelines.
However, it may not make a difference. While many are furious with the changes, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with AARP and the American Medical Association suggests that only about 1 in 4 Americans aged 50-64 regularly take advantage of preventive services such as screenings and immunizations — this includes mammograms.
The report, "Promoting Preventive Services for Adults 50-64: Community and Clinical Partnerships," reminds patients that preventive services can be lifesaving and they should take advantage of them.
"People aged 50-64 need access to preventive services to help them improve their overall health and to live vibrant, productive lives," said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
Thus perhaps, there should be less focus on the specific guidelines and more on actually getting patients to take advantage of preventative care.
For the full report visit Promoting Preventive Services for Adults 50-64
Edited by Kevin Doyle