Comments on: Three Reasons I Think My Head Will Explode

By: Stimey

Stimey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:28 +0000

1. Oh, I know.

2. Seriously. Right?

3. Appalling.

KABOOM!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:41:05 +0000

My heart aches and my mind boggles at the list.

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:38:15 +0000

Daisy – if your mother had breast cancer then you would be considered high risk and of course you would be getting mammograms. Apparently breast tissue below the age of 50 is hard to read which is why they have this recommendation. And actually I was at a seminar on Tuesday where I was at the same lunch table as the head of the NIH Library. She said that a Technical Expert Panel at NIH had come to the same recommendations 10 years ago but because of pressure from advocacy groups it got squashed.

The point is not to radiate yourself unnecessarily and the rate of false readings is so high.

By: Daisy

Daisy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:06:12 +0000

My mother had breast cancer, so I get a mammo annually – and I won’t hit the magic 5-0 mark for another two years. This new “recommendation” concerns me deeply.

By: annie

annie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:34:28 +0000

I have been keeping up with the update’s on Anissa via your FB feed. It is hard to wrap the mind around life-threatening events that shouldn’t happen to people so young.

With the health care issue still in play down your way, I can see where the mammogram recommendations would cause suspicion and alarm, but the findings aren’t new. I have been reading about cancer screens in general and the new findings about them for most of this year. You should check out Devra Davis’s book on the subject of cancer research and organizations. It’s not a new title, but it is an eye opening read. What was most interesting is the data that points to evidence that breast cancer may have environmental triggers, so women who live in highly industrialized areas are at higher risk regardless of their genetic risk. That was something we thought about when my husband’s company offered him a transfer to Houston. The Gulf Coast and the northeast are danger zones for women where breast cancer is concerned.

I had already decided to forgo screening until 50. That’s the WHO recommendation and I think it is a sound one, but this is a chance for women to read, talk to their doctors and decide for themselves. I don’t think insurance companies will weasel out of coverage. Breast cancer is one of the “lucky” illnesses in that it is extremely high profile and insurance companies are well aware of this. They may be money grubbing pricks, but they aren’t going to deliberately foster the image. That would be bad business.

By: Gina Chen

Gina Chen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:19:48 +0000

I’m really troubled by this new mammogram thing — I’m 42, so I’ve been getting my yearly for 2 years now … will. I’d like to continue doing so .. will my insurance balk? Maybe? I don’t know.

I have no family history of breast cancer, but as you point out, that doesn’t matter. Plus, my doc was adamant that I start mammos at 40. Shouldn’t what my doc thinks matter most?

By: Velma

Velma — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:24:40 +0000

Me, too. I feel like rolling down the car windows and screaming, “FUCK YOU, universe!” – except there is always a kid with me so I can’t do it. But I’m *thinking* it.

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