Are Mammograms Useless?

Are Mammograms Effective?
nurse with patient about to...
nurse with patient about to...

Last week, the conversation about breast cancer diagnosis and treatment moved into new and uncomfortable territory. The New England Journal of Medicine published a large-scale study concluding that mammograms may not be as helpful as most people believe in treating breast cancer. Even worse, the study suggested that more than 1 million women may have been unnecessarily treated and diagnosed.

Everyone agrees that fewer women are dying from breast cancer. We -- meaning the medical community and interested women -- assumed that the increased survival rates were a result of early detection and mammography. “Early detection saves lives” is one of the main rallying cries of the Susan G. Komen Foundation-led pink-ribboned breast cancer community. But what if it doesn’t?

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