Like millions of American women, I was confused and upset by the new mammogram guidelines issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
I was 13 years old when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the age of 40, she followed her doctor’s recommendation and went for her first mammogram. It showed a small tumor. To her knowledge, she had no family history. She opted for a lumpectomy and radiation treatment. Five years later, however, the cancer returned in the same breast. She had a mastectomy and reconstruction.
My mom was blessed that her breast cancer was caught at its earliest stage. She has been cancer-free for 15 years. There’s a good chance that she wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t gotten that first mammogram.
When I turned 30, she nagged me (as mothers do) to get a mammogram. I am in a higher-risk category because of my mother’s diagnosis at a young age. It took about a year of bugging for me to get a screening. (She even cried once.) Thankfully, I’m okay, but I need to go every year. (It’s actually time for me to make another appointment. Mom, don’t start again!)
Needless to say, my mom is livid at the new guidelines. I’m proud of her for talking to my colleague, Evan Dawson, yesterday about her feelings. (
Click on this video link to watch the story.)This is a rare instance where I really don’t care what the statistics say about when you should start screening. The only statistic that matters to me is the one that happened in my own family.
