Are mammogram screenings worth the effort?

For years, doctors have told women that having a mammogram done yearly is the proper thing to do, as early screening can save your life. But are they over-endorsing the treatment?

A mammogram screens breast tissue for cancers, looking for areas where the tissue is denser than in other areas. The issue is that some women have denser breast tissue, which makes identification of tumors especially difficult. For younger women with denser tissue, it far more probable that the tumor would be missed, although it is very unlikely that they would have one in the first place. Older women, over 70 may get a tumor, but it is likely nonfatal. Studies show that the best results are gathered from women between 50 and 70, reducing the risk of death by breast cancer by 20 to 30 percent.

Dr. Formenti, the chairwoman of radiation oncology at New York University Langone Medical Center, is frustrated that people do not realize how ineffective these screenings are generally. Screenings are not as effective as we would have hoped. The results, therefore, are not as infallible as we would like or as we believe them to be. Older women, for example, who are diagnosed with tumors are forever affected psychologically, knowing that they are cancer patients.

Does that mean that screening should entirely not be done for other age groups? Some doctors would say yes, unless there is evidence in the family history of early or late set breast cancer. Not screening, however, could defeat the gains that have been made against breast cancer deaths, which have significantly dropped in recent years.

It is still the choice of individual whether a screening is worth their time, money, and discomfort. Although it may seem a complete waste, women should seriously consider the risk of ignoring the slightly flawed technology available to them. As Dr. Norton says, “Say someone fires a gun at you, and you know that there is a 30 percent chance that the bullet is a blank. Do you not still duck?”