Cancer Screenings: More is NOT Necessarily Better…
Categories: Cancer Facts/The Basics
Cancer Screening
ST. LOUIS — With cancer screenings, more is always better.
But a new way of thinking has started to take hold that looks at the risks along with the benefits and concludes that universal routine screenings may not always be the best option for improving public health.
The idea that cancer isn’t always fatal, even without treatment, is also a fairly new concept.
Women need to be screened for cervical cancer only between ages 21 and 65, according to new guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The leading gynecological society said women should receive Pap tests every two years until age 30 and every three years after that, instead of annually.
Women were also advised this week in a report from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that mammograms are usually unnecessary before age 50. (beliefs said that women from the age of 35 should have a mammogram every one to two years. That number was then raised up to the age of 40, not 35.)
“The tradition of doing a Pap test every year has not been supported by recent scientific evidence,” said a statement from Dr. Alan Waxman, who spearheaded the new guidelines. “A review of the evidence to date shows that screening at less frequent intervals prevents cervical cancer just as well, has decreased costs, and avoids unnecessary interventions that could be harmful.”