Women Beware! Your Breasts Are in Danger!

Breast Cancer - the very words are frightening to hear for any woman, at any age. We know that it can and does happen and there is no exception to age or race or even history – sometimes it just happens.

In reading the breaking news recently regarding the Government’s report on mammograms and the sudden switch in age requirements, I was inclined to question the authenticity and grounds for such a bold statement.

Since it contradicts the American Cancer Society’s longstanding posture on the need for women to get mammograms around the age of 40, the comments made by some of the democratic leaders in Congress sound reckless, careless and uninformed.

Last month, in the grandiose method of our current government to exhibit concern and that they were in tune with health issues; Pelosi and the women in Congress dressed in Pink.  Additionally, most of the men wore something pink, indicating their support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

In fact, there was great gushing and pontification made by Democratic representatives who shared stories and urged the bills to be passed. As one congresswoman who demonstrated with authentic mockery said:

*With her arms outstretched, DeLauro pleaded for an affirmative vote: “Let’s do this. Let’s do this for the women of this nation.”

Other comments made by people who in their own words said;

*”We all know people near and dear to us that have battled breast cancer,” Rep. Jerry Nadler said. “My wife is one of them.”

*The New York Democrat has introduced HR 995, the Mammogram and MRI Availability Act, calling it a “common sense” bill to insure yearly mammograms for women at high risk, and to guarantee “life saving screening exams.”

*Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who self-diagnosed a lump at age 41, only six weeks after being given a clean bill of health after a mammogram, has introduced HR 1740 Breast Cancer Education and Awareness, The EARLY Act.

*The bill would promote a public health campaign to teach young women that breast cancer is not an old woman’s disease. Every witness testified to an urgent need to educate young women. Each year 24,000 women under 45 are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States.

*Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death of women in the United States and the leading cause of death for women 40-49.

*Wasserman Schultz said early education is particularly important because “young women’s cancers are generally more aggressive, are diagnosed at a later stage and result in higher mortality rates.”

Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., sponsored HR2279, Eliminating Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment Act to assure all women “receive the best modern care for breast cancer.”

She said the bill was necessary because minority groups — especially African Americans, Latinas, Asian Americans and American Indians — often do not receive vital breast cancer screening.

“Ten percent of African American women were less likely to get screening to see if cancer had spread to lymph nodes,” she said.

“It will save lives, save money and it will save heartache,” she said of the bill.

Common sense and practical comments came from Republicans, who with the following statement, indicated that the current Health Care System, (without the Government’s hand in it) was by far the best!

*But some Republicans questioned whether the bills were necessary. Rep Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., said that deaths from breast cancer had dropped more than 2 percent since 1990 due to early detection, which denotes “our health care system is the best in the world.”

Therein lies the contradiction, the spin, the non-truth, the pathetic insensitivity to the nation’s women – once again – treated as “second-class” citizens who are not deemed important enough to support an existing and longterm statement with evidence, that in fact “Early detection saves Lives“.  Since when did the government all of a sudden become an “Expert” on when women should have mammograms? Especially after reading the above quotes and comments made by the very same people who pushed for government health care overhaul.

So, let’s look at what a nice tightrope our government has made for us;

• Current health care system is not good, it’s too expensive and people cannot afford it (according to Dems)
• Government knows better and has a better plan – it will cost more than any current program, and if we don’t buy it we pay a fine or go to jail (according to Dems)
• Government is the new “expert” on health care, and now knows better than the American Cancer Association about Breast Cancer detection
• Government needed to cut costs, so by increasing the required age for mammograms to 50 – they now think they have saved $$ overall

Government insists it will save money (lobby groups spent over $345,000,000 supporting this change, not to mention what kinds of favors, deals, etc were made, and Obama promised transparency and no lobbying – that did not happen!)

Government now says the cost of the program will come from our pockets and If we don’t buy their insurance we pay a fine or go to jail (of course this is because we can “afford” to buy their program, instead of any current ones available.

We pay a fine or go to jail because we don’t buy health insurance – why can’t we?

Because we don’t have the money to buy insurance in the first place!

It is so amazing to me that the government thinks it knows how to run Banks, Investments companies, Automobile manufacturers, and now Health Care.

The message they are sending is so convoluted, so filled with inexhaustible holes – deception, deliberate double standards, and shows the inefficiency and lack of knowledge and expertise on the part of the current government regime.

If we were to ask the government to give us the same health care program they have, we would hear excuses and justifications as to why ours is different, yet, aren’t they the “servants” of the People who elected them?

Women of America, be aware!

This act on the part of the government is only the beginning of a long list of changes they want to implement to cut our medical access.
What do you think this comment refers to ?

“Prevention measures likely to be included in the final health care reform package do not include coverage for MRIs for high risk women,” Nadler said.

*excerpts from article by V.Udenans ABC, Oct 7,2009

By changing the age to 50, it puts more women at risk, and with the non-inclusion of MRIs for high risk women – they put us in a no-win situation.  We can’t get mammograms till we are 50, but by that time, cancer could very well be in our bodies, and by the time we get the mammogram, we are not able to get an MRI, because we are now considered “high-risk”.  How is that for double jeopardy? Either way, our breasts are in danger!

What can we do? How can we fight against this unfair broad brush stroke statement that  puts virtually every woman at risk?  American Cancer Society, Komen and other breast cancer research organizations have all agreed that early detection is key to staying alive!

The deaths from Breast Cancer are already high, when it kills even one woman – because that woman is someone’s mother, daughter, sister, wife!

It is my opinion that this is merely another way for the government to cut costs – not in the best interest of its women citizens!

****Ladies, please!!! Make your comments here, share your age when you discovered breast cancer, or a loved one.  Share your comments please, this is really important! I have a chance to present this article and the comments to some key people and need your help with this! Thank you so much for all your help! Monika

I have included Fox News Report below discussing this “new” government discovery.

Fox News Article -
New Mammogram Advice Raises Concerns

Tuesday , November 17, 2009

NEW YORK —

For many women, getting a mammogram is already one of life’s more stressful experiences.Now, women in their 40s have the added anxiety of trying to figure out if they should even be getting one at all.

A government task force said Monday that most women don’t need mammograms in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50 — a stunning reversal and a break with the American Cancer Society’s long-standing position. What’s more, the panel said breast self-exams do no good, and women shouldn’t be taught to do them.

The news seemed destined to leave many deeply confused about whose advice to follow.

“I’ve never had a scare, but isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?” asked Beth Rosenthal, 41, sitting in a San Francisco cafe on Monday afternoon with her friend and their small children. “I’ve heard of a lot of women in their 40s, and even 30s, who’ve gotten breast cancer. It just doesn’t seem right to wait until 50.”

Her friend agreed. “I don’t think I’ll wait,” said Leslie David-Jones, also 41, shaking her head.

For most of the past two decades, the American Cancer Society has been recommending annual mammograms beginning at 40, and it reiterated that position on Monday. “This is one screening test I recommend unequivocally, and would recommend to any woman 40 and over,” the society’s chief medical officer, Dr. Otis Brawley, said in a statement.

But the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government panel of doctors and scientists, concluded that such early and frequent screenings often lead to false alarms and unneeded biopsies, without substantially improving women’s odds of survival.

“The benefits are less and the harms are greater when screening starts in the 40s,” said Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chair of the panel.

Breast cancer survivors who were diagnosed at a young age were among the more vocal critics of the new guidelines.

“This sure seems like a big step backwards to me,” said Debbie Hayes, who was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer at age 33 after finding a lump during a self-exam. A mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy and finally a mastectomy and chemotherapy followed.

“People are being diagnosed even in their early 20s,” said Hayes, now 53 and a volunteer coordinator for the Chicago-based Breast Cancer Network of Strength. “Mammograms are a key element of that.”

But another breast cancer survivor thought the new guidelines sounded about right — even though she was diagnosed at age 37, two years ago.

“They seem pretty sensible to me,” said Claire Mayne, of San Francisco. “The death rate is not going down because of the earlier mammograms. I’d feel comfortable telling a friend to wait until she was 50.”

Mayne was more doubtful, though, about the advice on self-exams; that’s how she found her own cancer.

Most women in their 40s interviewed for this article said they planned to stick with the old mammography recommendations, at least for now.

“I have two young children,” said Amber Smart, a 47-year-old mother in Agoura Hills, Calif. “There’s a lot of years left that they need me.” She’s been having mammograms every six months, since she was 44, to make sure that certain dense areas of her breasts aren’t cancer.

“I think it’s kind of sad that they’re basically saying, ‘We can’t afford to pay for the few people who may have it in their 40s, so a few people are going to die,”‘ Smart said.

Judy Finley, a flight attendant from Dallas, called the new re in line with international guidelines, which call for screening to start at age 50; the World Health Organization recommends the test every two years, and Britain says every three years.

They were sharply challenged by the cancer society on Monday.

“The task force advice is based on its conclusion that screening 1,300 women in their 50s to save one life is worth it, but that screening 1,900 women in their 40s to save a life is not, Brawley wrote.

That stance “is essentially telling women that mammography at age 40 to 49 saves lives, just not enough of them,” he added.

But Dr. Amy Abernethy of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center agreed with the task force’s changes.

“Overall, I think it really took courage for them to do this,” she said. “It does ask us as doctors to change what we do and how we communicate with patients. That’s no small undertaking.”