News on Mammography

Survey finds states cutting back on mammograms

2010-02-22T12:30:25Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some U.S. states have begun using controversial new breast cancer screening guidelines to stop offering routine mammograms for uninsured women in their 40s, a survey by the Avon Foundation for Women released ...

Hologic fiscal 1Q earnings down 32 pct on charges

2010-02-22T12:54:46Z

<div id="subtitle">Hefty charges drag down Hologic's fiscal 1st-quarter profit, but results top expectations</div><div><p>Hologic Inc., which makes mammogram systems and other women's health diagnostic tools, said Monday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 32 percent, hurt by charges and continued capital spending restraint by hospitals.</p><p>But the compa...

Mammograms may be overused in women with dementia

2010-02-22T13:29:24Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some elderly women with severe cognitive impairment are getting mammography breast cancer screening even though they are unlikely to ever benefit from it, a new study finds.</p><p>Researchers found that among more than 2,100 U.S. women age 70 and older, 18 percent of those with advan...

Radiation dose less with digital mammograms

2010-02-22T16:53:28Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Newer digital mammograms may deliver significantly lower radiation doses than conventional film mammograms, especially for women with larger and denser breasts, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.</p><p>A study of nearly 50,000 women that compared...

New guidelines back mammograms starting at age 40

2010-02-23T01:27:31Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Mammograms should begin at 40 for women with an average risk of breast cancer and by 30 for high-risk women, according to guidelines released on Monday by two groups that specialize in breast imaging, contradicting controversial guidelines from a U.S. advisory panel last ye...

Teresa Heinz says she's fighting breast cancer

2010-02-23T12:05:33Z

<div id="subtitle">Teresa Heinz says she has breast cancer, slams federal mammography recommendations</div><div><p>Teresa Heinz says she is being treated for breast cancer discovered through mammography and argues that younger women should continue undergoing the tests despite a federal panel's recent recommendation to reduce their frequency.</p><p>The 71-year-old wife of...

Women with high breast cancer risk refuse MRIs

2010-02-23T12:44:28Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - As many as 42 percent of women who are at intermediate or high risk of getting breast cancer decide not to get recommended MRI screening, even if it is offered for free, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>A quarter of the women in the study ...

Poor being turned away from free cancer screenings

2010-02-23T17:00:31Z

<div id="subtitle">Poor turned away from some free cancer screening centers as economy forces comebacks</div><div><p>As the economy falters and more people go without health insurance, low-income women in at least 20 states are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings, according to the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Networ...

Medicare cuts stay in Senate's health care bill

2010-02-23T21:10:54Z

<div id="subtitle">Senate keeps Medicare cuts, adopts measure to safeguards mammograms, preventive tests</div><div><p>Casting its first votes on revamping the nation's health care system, the Senate rejected a Republican bid Thursday to stave off Medicare cuts and approved safeguards for coverage of mammograms and other preventive tests for women.</p><p>The first ro...

Senate votes to keep Medicare cuts in health bill

2010-02-23T21:26:30Z

<div id="subtitle">Senate keeps Medicare cuts and adopts measure to safeguard mammograms in health care bill</div><div><p>Casting its first votes on revamping the nation's health care system, the Senate rejected a Republican bid Thursday to stave off Medicare cuts and approved safeguards for coverage of mammograms and other preventive tests for women. The first round of votes ended with a frag...

US medical task force 'fumbled' mammogram message

2010-02-23T21:45:33Z

<div><p>The heads of a high-level US medical panel acknowledged Wednesday they "fumbled the message" about when women should begin having routine screening mamograms in a controversial report last month.</p><p>"We communicated very poorly," Diana Petitti, vice chair of the US Preventive ...

Debate over mammograms splits along party lines

2010-02-23T21:55:09Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans argued on Wednesday that recommendations advising against routine mammograms for women in their 40s could be used to ration healthcare under reform legislation before Congress, a charge Democrats denied.</p&a...

Ultrasound effective at spotting breast cancers

2010-02-23T22:01:59Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Breast ultrasounds found 100 percent of suspicious cancers in women under 40 who found lumps or other suspicious areas of the breast, offering a cheaper, less-invasive alternative to surgery or biopsies, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.</p><p>They said targeted ultrasound -- which examines just the a...

Medicaid coverage no barrier to mammography access

2010-02-23T22:24:13Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women on Medicaid have a harder time scheduling a timely appointment for a diagnostic mammogram than women with Medicare coverage, new research shows.</p><p>But the difference is small, and can't explain why women with Medicaid insurance -- which...

Mammogram radiation may put some women at risk

2010-02-23T22:28:14Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Low-dose radiation from mammograms and chest X-rays may increase the risk of breast cancer in young women who are already at high risk because of family history or genetic susceptibility, Dutch researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>They said high-risk women, especially those under 30, may want to consider ...

Benign Breast Lesions

2010-02-23T22:41:22Z

Author: Alex White

Breast cancer is one of the most terrifying and devastating of diseases for women and with good reason. It takes a heavy toll not only on the physical health of the patient, but on the emotional well being as well. Physicians suggest that patients undergo routine breast examination to detect any abnormal changes as early as possible, so that if the cell changes are related to cancer, treatment can start as early as possible. With the right treatment at t...

Breast imaging software helps identify cancers

2010-02-23T22:50:21Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - A software program that helps determine the stiffness of a breast lump may help some women avoid unnecessary breast biopsies, U.S. researchers said on Monday.</p><p>They said the technique called elastography, which is used in tandem with a stand...

US women to ignore new breast exam advice: poll

2010-02-24T00:57:28Z

<div><p>Three-quarters of US women disagree with a high-level panel's recommendations to raise the age of breast cancer screening and even more plan to ignore the guidelines, a poll showed Tuesday.</p><p>Of 1,136 women aged 35 and 75 interviewed over three days last week, 76 percent disagreed with the findings of the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, ready to unveil his long-awaited Senate health care bill a bill that, while it has drawn the usual complaints from the usual suspects, hasnt been dismissed as unworkable or unreasonable.</p><p>And then, unexpected, was an announcement about detection of breast cancer that suddenly ...

Mammogram guidelines spark debate over health bill

2010-02-24T01:58:47Z

<div id="subtitle">Lawmakers argue whether mammogram guidelines show what's wrong with health care overhaul</div><div><p>Lawmakers broke along party lines on a new aspect of the health care debate Sunday as a former National Institutes of Health chief urged women to ignore guidelines that delay the start of breast cancer screenings.</p>&a...