The researchers don't seem to know why, but there is a decline in the number of women in the United States age 40 or older who have had mammograms over the last two years.
A study published in the journal Cancer says that during the period from 1987 to 2000, there was a steady increase in women receiving mammograms. They believe this to be somewhat responsible for the increase in breast cancer survival that occurred during that period. Supporting the phrase -- early detection saves lives.
They evaluate the trends in mammography use by a survey that is administered to 35,000 adults called the National Health Interview Survey. The current analysis focused on women who had mammograms in the last two years. The survey showed that in the year 2000, 70 percent of women reported they had a mammogram in the previous two years. In the year 2005, the number was down to 66 percent.
The authors of the study raise some interesting points. It has been reported in the news that there has been a decline in breast cancer cases, attributed to reduced use of the postmenopausal hormones. The authors raise the question -- May the drop in mammography use be missing cancers that would otherwise be picked up? Could this be a contributing factor to why there are less breast cancer cases being diagnosed? If there is a drop in screening it seems logical that there would be a drop in the number of breast cancer incidences.
In the long term the decreased use of mammography screening can cause women to be diagnosed at advanced stages which will lead to an increased risk of breast cancer mortality.
1. I wonder if the cycle is in part based on the media's coverage of breast cancer issues. I wouldn't be surprised if mammograms spike at times when there's a lot of news-- celebrities or health scares. People need to be informed all the time, without letup, until routine self-care actually becomes routine.
Regards,
Richard Day Gore
Posted at 7:46AM on May 17th 2007 by richard day gore