Emily Kelley / Roundup
With the health care debate still raging through the Senate, some women may be using less coverage for formally routine tests.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released updated guidelines on breast cancer screenings last month that state women under 50 should not receive routine testing.
New guidelines were also set for cervical cancer screening, otherwise known as pap swears, to begin at 21.
While this may seem like a bad thing, if handled correctly, this could be very beneficial.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women in the United States. This year, nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
About 11,270 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed this year, and about 4,070 women will die from cervical cancer, also according to ACS.
Needless to say, pap swears and mammograms are incredibly important tests, and early detection saves lives.
However, these new guidelines will neither prevent early detection nor cause more fatalities if clearly specified.
Most cases of cervical cancer are not found in women younger than 50 and it rarely develops in women younger than 20, so waiting until a woman is 21 is totally logical.
Only about 15 percent of women in their 40s detect breast cancer through mammography, while many other women experience false positives, anxiety and unnecessary biopsies as a result of the test, according to the data analyzed by the task force.
According to the National Cancer Institute, women over 60 have the highest rate of being diagnosed with breast cancer, so not receiving routine testing until age 50 is a valid suggestion.
These new guidelines do not come without consequences, especially for young women.
The only time most young women get tested for sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea and Chlamydia are during their yearly pap test. Both of these diseases have no symptoms and could otherwise not be detected without a trip to the doctor.
Doctors need to still urge their young patients to be seen once a year for STD tests, even if they don’t recieve a pap smear.
As for breast cancer, if a woman has a family history of the disease, it would be wise to check with their doctor on when to begin screens. Even without history, early detection screenings could still be a good idea.
These are just guidelines. After all, you won’t go to gynecological jail if you choose not to follow them.
Updating guidelines to fit the modern woman’s health concerns is a necessary and proactive step in health care reform.
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