Mammogram Fail

Introduction: 

The Value of Mammograms The United States, throughout the years, have no recordings in which the rate of cancers have declined in which they have already spread far beyond the breast before they were located. The purpose of screening is in the hope for early detection of cancer so that it is possible to treated. Cancers being in a local area then spread to various organs eventually to various parts of the human body. But why is it that screenings have not reduced the rate of cancers? (A)Detection options for breast cancer have been provided and the rates of these cancers have been stable since 1975.  The average age that women are diagnosed with cancer is at about the age of 63. (A quite possibility that this is another reason as to why cancers are not being detected sooner) The pattern that breast cancer tends to take is that it is already systemic, spreading quickly and widely from the very beginning. Because of this pattern, detecting breast cancers sooner limits the process. (A)

Investigation: 

Limitations of MammographyThe limitations in mammography include false-negative results, false-positive results, and over-diagnosis/over-treatment. Mammograms were created in the 1980s to detect breast cancers that are too small to be felt. The value of mammograms and its influence in helping women live longer is not as promising as people might think. A woman's overall health status (aka: whether or not she has other serious or life-threatening health problems. Congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary/lung disease are just some examples). 

Although mammograms can detect small tumors in the breast area, breast cancer is fast-growing and so aggressive that there is a great chance that it has already spread to other areas before it can even be detected. (B) False-negative mammogram results occurs when everything seems normal when in fact the breast cancer is present. One in five breast cancers are not found in mammogram screenings. These type of results are more common in younger women whose breasts are much more dense making it difficult to detect. ( As we age, women's breasts become less dense) (B) 

False-positive mammogram results occur when the breast looks abnormal in the screening but no cancer is present. Diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds, and MRIs or even biopsy's are performed when abnormal mammograms are detected to make sure that there is or is no cancer.  These results are also more common in younger women who have dense breasts, have had breast biopsies, taking estrogen,or have family history in breast cancer.  These results often cause a lot of anxiety in patients due to the extra tests needed to make sure that cancer is not present which costs time money and physical discomfort.(B) 

Lastly, another limitation of mammograms is that physicians can not tell the difference between life-threatening cancers which grow and spread to other parts of the human body to those that are not dangerous and will not grow. Although mammograms can detect cancers such as invasive breast cancers as well as DCIS (aka: ductal carcinoma in situ- which are cancer cells in the lining of the breast ducts), some of the tumors detected may not be life-threatening and do not grow. (B) Over diagnosis, subsequently, has women being treated unnecessarily with cancer therapy which can be physically draining and challenge an individual's mental health. About 0-10% of women fall into this range(B). We have to find ways for doctors to differentiate between cancers and cases of DCIS that become life threatening, instead of treating everything detected by mammograms the same.

Concluding Remarks: 

Benefits of Mammography The fundamental purpose of mammogram screenings is to save lives by detecting diseases before symptoms develop so that physicans are able to provide their patients treatments to reduce the affects of the disease (possibly even cure it), but above all to give their patients hope of a longer life. Diagnostic mammography ( known more commonly in the medical field as the 'problem solving mammography' which uses the similar procedure to normal mammograms) uses x-rays and the patients specific symptoms of men and women. It can also be used to determine presence or absence of breast cancer in patients with personal history of breast cancer or biopsy-proven breast disease. (C) 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has screening guidelines that applies to both breast cancer and mammography.  First the disease being screened is serious and prevalent, and the test used should be sensitive and specific, well tolerated, inexpensive and changes therapy or outcome. The reason for these five principles is so that the disease has to be prevalent enough and show symptoms of the diseases to warrant screenings and tests. (C)

Links:

(A)http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/29/mammograms-not-catching-cancers-before-they-spread-say-us-experts
(B) http://www.cancer.org/treatment/understandingyourdiagnosis/examsandtestdescriptions/mammogramsandotherbreastimagingprocedures/mammograms-and-other-breast-imaging-procedures-mammogram-limitations
(C)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22311/

*These images are not mine! They were found on various tumblr sites! If any are yours -please let me know so that I can give you credit! Thanks so much~