Women are over-treated for cancer -
ONE of Australia's top medicos has agreed with a US study on mammograms that says women are treated for cancers that are not life-threatening.
The study, led by Dr H. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth Medical School and Dr Archie Bleyer of St Charles Health System and Oregon Health and Science University, is claimed to be the most detailed look yet at over-treatment of breast cancer.
But Steve Hambleton, federal president of the Australian Medical Association, has slammed another of the report's claims that mammograms have "done surprisingly little to catch deadly cancers before they spread".
"It is completely false screening does not pick up cancers before they spread," he said.
"Early detection plays a huge part in the fight against breast cancer, but yes, I agree there are times when there is overdiagnosis.
"Sometimes there is no way of telling if a cancer will spread. There are cases where women end up having surgery or chemotherapy when their cancers were not life-threatening.
"But while there is a small degree of harm from screening, the benefits heavily outweigh them," he said.
"It is often the fear factor and a cautiousness in patients that leads to surgeries. Patients may pressure doctors to cut out the tumours. It is a very emotional thing.
"Cancers need to go under the microscope to study them further and of course that will involve biopsies and other tests. But screening is necessary. Self-examination is not enough."
He admits mammograms are not the perfect screening tool, but reminds Australian women that detecting abnormalities helps save lives.
The breast cancer death rate in Queensland has significantly decreased and survival rates have dramatically improved, according to the Queensland Cancer Council.
It says the five-year survival for breast cancer is now 89 per cent and that has improved from 74 per cent from 1982 to 1989.
More than half of Queensland women aged 50 to 69 participate in BreastScreen Queensland.
According to the Queensland Cancer Council: "Mammograms are not 100 per cent accurate, but they remain the best method for the early detection of breast cancer."
The authors of the US report concluded that: "The good news in breast cancer - decreasing mortality - must largely be the result of improved treatment, not screening."
Read more -
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/women-are-over-treated-for-cancer/story-fndo45r1-1226522332272
ONE of Australia's top medicos has agreed with a US study on mammograms that says women are treated for cancers that are not life-threatening.
The study, led by Dr H. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth Medical School and Dr Archie Bleyer of St Charles Health System and Oregon Health and Science University, is claimed to be the most detailed look yet at over-treatment of breast cancer.
But Steve Hambleton, federal president of the Australian Medical Association, has slammed another of the report's claims that mammograms have "done surprisingly little to catch deadly cancers before they spread".
"It is completely false screening does not pick up cancers before they spread," he said.
"Early detection plays a huge part in the fight against breast cancer, but yes, I agree there are times when there is overdiagnosis.
"Sometimes there is no way of telling if a cancer will spread. There are cases where women end up having surgery or chemotherapy when their cancers were not life-threatening.
"But while there is a small degree of harm from screening, the benefits heavily outweigh them," he said.
"It is often the fear factor and a cautiousness in patients that leads to surgeries. Patients may pressure doctors to cut out the tumours. It is a very emotional thing.
"Cancers need to go under the microscope to study them further and of course that will involve biopsies and other tests. But screening is necessary. Self-examination is not enough."
He admits mammograms are not the perfect screening tool, but reminds Australian women that detecting abnormalities helps save lives.
The breast cancer death rate in Queensland has significantly decreased and survival rates have dramatically improved, according to the Queensland Cancer Council.
It says the five-year survival for breast cancer is now 89 per cent and that has improved from 74 per cent from 1982 to 1989.
More than half of Queensland women aged 50 to 69 participate in BreastScreen Queensland.
According to the Queensland Cancer Council: "Mammograms are not 100 per cent accurate, but they remain the best method for the early detection of breast cancer."
The authors of the US report concluded that: "The good news in breast cancer - decreasing mortality - must largely be the result of improved treatment, not screening."
Read more -
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/women-are-over-treated-for-cancer/story-fndo45r1-1226522332272
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