ACR also warned against putting undue weight on anxiety over false positives.

“While anxiety over test results is real, most women simply need another mammogram or ultrasound exam to answer questions about their mammogram. A small number will undergo a benign breast biopsy based on an abnormal screening and subsequent evaluation. However, most women would balk at comparing the anxiety of this with that of dying from breast cancer,” Monsees said.


“No one can tell which cancers will never advance and which will become lethal. Therefore, until science can help to differentiate them, surgeons and medical oncologists will treat these patients, even though a small number of them may not benefit from treatment. The bottom line is that we know that discontinuing regular mammograms will result in thousands more breast cancer deaths each year. That human cost would be too high,” she added.



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