Say What??

We have a light sprinkle outside right now...it's long past dark and I'm hoping we will get a decent rain. Grab a glass of heart-healthy red wine or if you insist, grape juice, and relax.

Quick Mom Update...
She's doing fine! Thoroughly enjoying being the center of the household at the moment and she's eating better and feeling better than she has for quite some time.

Current Events...
Are they kidding with this breast cancer preventative screening study?! "Sure you might get breast cancer, but don't bother trying to detect it early because you might get a false positive and suffer some unnecessary anxiety."

This is not only insane, it is, in my opinion, dangerous. I am personally friends with three women who have survived breast cancer. If their cases had not been detected as early as they were we may have lost any one or all of them. I agree, false positive readings happen and that would be an awful experience. But I think you might find having a true positive reading at say, Stage 4, would be just a trifle more upsetting. Especially if a mammogram a year earlier could have found it and thus given you a good chance for survival.

I watched an interview on Good Morning America this morning with one of the members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that conducted this study. Nothing he said convinced me that the results of the study are something we should believe. Robin Roberts asked one question that I think should have been taken a step further. She asked if any women had been a member of the task force (the answer was yes). What she should have asked is if there were any women who had been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer on the task force. I would really like to know the answer that question.

My personal opinion - I think the insurance companies will use this study to stop paying for preventative mammogram screenings and I would really like to know how much stock in health insurance companies the members of the task force own and just how many perks and benefits have or will be coming their way from health insurance company vendors.

I'll end my tirade with this: When are they going to advise men to not perform self-examination for testicular cancer or to not have prostrate cancer screenings so they do not have to risk suffering through the pain and horror of a false positive?

That's my take. Have a great evening - Jo