If you’ve been confused about what to think about breast cancer screening join the club. As most everyone knows the United States Preventive Services Task Force recently issued some new guidelines for breast cancer screening that caused quite a ruckus. One was that women of average risk for getting breast cancer should have their first mammogram at age 50. Prior to that most would agree that the usual physician recommendation and guidelines would be to start at age 40.

This week the American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging released the results of a 2 year study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. Their recommendation is to start breast cancer screening in women of average risk at the age of 40. One of the authors of the recommendations stated that their information was not developed in response to the USPSTF recommendations but were entirely independent.

Bottom line ladies…talk with your doctor and decide what is right for YOU! Occasionally a patient would mention to me that the risk of some bad complication occurring during some test was only 1 in 100. My answer was yes but if you’re that 1 it’s 100%! I was always told that you can make the numbers say anything that you want them to. Also figures don’t lie but liars figure.  bjmdjd

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American College of Radiology · breast cancer · breast cancer screening · breast cancer screening guidelines · health · healthcare · Society of Breast Imaging · USPSTF

While I said that I would try to keep politics out of this blog as much as possible, sometimes it can’t be helped. It’s a real shame that the healthcare conference committee will be held in private. Never mind that during the campaign President Obama promised that it would all be done in public and broadcast over C Span. By doing it behind closed doors the public will not be privy to all of the vile democratic wheeling and dealing that will take place to get their version of reform passed as the final bill. At least as much of it as possible. It would really be interesting to actually see how abortion and the public option fair during  negotiations. It’s no wonder that several democrats have already said that they won’t run for reelection. The winds of change they are a blowin’. The only thing that will save dems up for reelection this year is if the economy turns around and folks forget about the rape called healthcare reform that is about to take place. The first time in history that a bill this important didn’t pass without bipartisan support. I wonder why?  bjmdjd

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C Span · health · healthcare conference committee · Healthcare Reform

Many of you folks know that the hemoglobin A1c test has long been used to monitor glucose control in diabetics. It’s the test that averages what your blood sugar has been doing over the last 3 months. Since a fasting glucose has been the main test used to diagnose diabetes it has long been desirable to come up with a non fasting test since most patients have eaten when they go to their doctors appointment. The American Diabetes Assoc. now recommends that the A1c be used for diagnosis! An A1c of approximately 5% is non diabetic, 5.7% – 6.4% = prediabetic, and 6.5% and above = diabetic. Screening for diabetes will be much easier now with a non fasting test available. Be sure to ask your doctor about this.   bjmdjd

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American Diabetes Association · diabetes · health · hemoglobin A1c · non fasting blood test