It’s Monday night, November 16, and I’m sitting in my computer room and I hear the television in the living room and NBC’s Brian Williams say something like, “coming up, a new recommendation for mammograms…” I don’t catch what he’s talking about and then NBC goes to commercial. A few minutes later, Brian is back with Dr. Susan Love (an expert on breast cancer) and one of the founders of Army of Women…. I stand near the television and listen to what this new government advisory group’s findings are (United States Preventative Services Task Force). Mammograms should not be given to women who are 40 years old, but should begin at 50. My jaw dropped. What? I looked at my husband… who couldn’t believe it either.
Brian asks Dr. Love’s opinion – and to my utter astonishment, she agrees with the advisory task force. She says something like, “This is what I’ve been saying all along.” Blah blah blah. A mammogram for younger women is not the best tool for diagnosis because younger women have dense tissue – and it’s like looking for a polar bear in a snow storm. The task force information states the risk/benefit equation and shows that only ONE cancer death out of 1,904 women in the 40-49 age is prevented by a mammogram.
Now… I’m seeing “red rats.” I am SO mad that I can barely contain myself. I realize that a mammogram might not be the best tool to diagnose breast cancer in younger women, but it is THE tool we have right now, so even if it’s not the best tool, we should continue to use it. Some of the information provided by this group is that a mammogram that may be a false positive makes a woman anxious, especially those women deemed “low risk.” Give me a break. I would choose being anxious for a little while instead of waiting until I was 50 to find out I had stage III or stage IV cancer and to “get my affairs in order” because my cancer wasn’t caught early enough.
I guess you’ve figured out that I have a personal interest in this recommendation. I was 43 when I was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. AND…IF I didn’t have a mammogram until I was 50, I might not have made it much past 50. AND… if there were so few women diagnosed in their 40s with breast cancer, how come I personally know SO MANY of these women?
After the news report, I decided I would write an email to Dr. Love. I went on the Army of Women website and found a contact email. For some strange reason, my email didn’t want to work that night. And guess what? There was a phone number listed. And guess what? I called it! And guess what? I spoke to a HUMAN! It wasn’t Dr. Love, but a lady named Dakota. I believe she is the head of the foundation. I said something like, “Hello Dakota, my name is Lynne and I just heard Dr. Love on the Nightly News with Brian Williams… and WHAT IS SHE THINKING!” and I proceeded to say a lot of things to this woman – and she listened, and interjected in a kind way. I also told her, “You better be prepared to take a lot of angry calls on this.” She replied. “We are.”
I went in and out of YELLING at this woman and then trying to calm myself down to sound like a rational woman. It’s a difficult thing when something like this hits so close to home. I thanked her for listening to me and I felt SO much better.
I also wrote an email to Dr. Love. My husband told me to write in the email. “My husband hopes a polar bear in a snowstorm eats you.” Of course, I didn’t write this, but it is funny and helped lighten the mood a little.
You might be surprised, but I DID get a response to my email from the Army of Women. They told me I should take my anger and put it to good use to help find a better way to diagnose breast cancer in younger women.
I will, but I think I will stick with helping the American Cancer Society do this by raising money through my Pink Purse Project and SUNYIT Team Violette.
Yes, I was under 50 when diagnosed, and to be honest, the doctor MISSED my cancer when I was 40. It was only when a cyst NEXT to the mass showed up on a mammogram almost 3 years later, that my cancer was detected, removed and treated.
And.. here’s to all the women who were under 50, who were not “at risk” and whose breast cancer was diagnosed by a mammogram. I’m sure you all feel that you are important enough to be the ONE of the 1 out of 1,904 whose cancer was diagnosed. I know I am.
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