Early screening, early detection | Our Corner

It was the most gut-wrenching email I have ever received. My mom went in for her annual screening and the results were iffy. After another couple tests, we found out she had breast cancer.

It was the most gut-wrenching email I have ever received.

My mom went in for her annual screening and the results were iffy. After another couple tests, we found out she had breast cancer.

The prognosis was good, though. Which is more than most people can say. If there is ever an “earliest moment” cancer can be detected in a human being, this was it. For that, we are forever grateful.

I’ve always been a full supporter of women and men getting annual screenings for cancer. But now, more than ever, I know the importance.

Because of the early detection my mom received, she didn’t have to go through chemotherapy. She did, however, opt to do several rounds of radiation. Coincidentally, she finished her last treatment last month, the month of awareness for the thing she just got irradiated from her body.

Even though she couldn’t bare to talk about it at first hence the email my mom now uses her early diagnosis to remind people to get regular screenings.

“Do not put it off,” she said in one of her reminders. “I am a perfect example.”

However, “putting it off” is the new recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

The group which is made up of 16 volunteer experts in prevention, evidence-based medicine and primary care recently came out with a draft of their new screening guidelines, specific to breast cancer.

The task force recommends women waiting until age 50 to start regular screening, instead of age 40. They also recommend getting a mammogram every two years, instead of annually. And screenings should stop for women 75 years and older. The group does say women aged 40-49 should get screening on an individualized basis, such as if they have family history.

The task force claims its recommendations are evidence-based, and they may very well be. But, anecdotally, I can’t imagine what would have happened to the cancer in her body had my mom had waited another year to get a screening. I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think it would’ve been as early of a stage, one year down the road.

My advice albeit it’s not evidence-based is to listen to your body and get screenings as often and as early as you need to. Many insurance companies pay for the first screening mammogram of each calendar year, no matter your age. If you don’t have insurance, there are often specific programs designed to help women pay for their screenings at local facilities.

In the words of my mom, don’t put it off.