Dear Women's Imaging Insider,
Critics of screening mammography question its efficacy and call attention to its harms -- particularly the anxiety women feel in the face of recalls and false positives. But screening advocates say the benefits of mammography outweigh its harms, and women need to be better informed about breast cancer screening. Who better to do this than breast imagers themselves?
At the recent American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) annual meeting in San Diego, Dr. Jiyon Lee of NYU Langone Medical Center reported the results of radiologist-led public education lectures about mammography screening. She and her colleagues found that the sessions eased women's anxiety and improved their understanding of the test. The full article is this issue's Insider Exclusive, available to you before our other members.
But what happens when one of your own has doubts about mammography? Such doubts are held by AuntMinnie.com frequent contributor Dr. Mary Morrison Saltz, who believes there are some very good reasons to question breast screening. She also shares a surprising personal revelation in an article you can read by clicking here.
What else is going on in the Women's Imaging Digital Community? Check out the links below:
- Find out why researchers at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, GA, suggest that fetal anatomy ultrasound scans should be performed earlier in obese women.
- Read what contributing writer Otha Linton has to say about the history of mammography screening.
- Also from our ARRS meeting coverage, discover whether women correctly estimate mammography's radiation danger.
- Learn why German researchers believe women should wear a bra during a chest CT scan.
- And from our coverage of the recent American Society of Breast Surgeons meeting, discover why lymph node axillary radiotherapy is poised to become the standard of care for women with node-positive breast cancer.
As always, if you have a comment, report, or article idea to share about any aspect of women's imaging, please contact me.
