Breast cancer screening and its subsequent effects
Mammography is the screening of breasts to detect cancer at an early stage. It encompasses the use of low energy X-rays to identify tumors. Women, particularly those aged 50 to 74, are advised to go for cancer screening every two years. There are benefits and harms of having a mammogram.
Breast cancer screening reduces mortality rates. When cancer is detected, it is treated early to minimize the chances of death. There is a 20% lower mortality rate among women who go for screening in the United Kingdom than those who don’t. Medical interventions are given in time, and the patient can live.
Screening allows the detection of tumors and their removal before they cause problems or symptoms. That prevents cancer from advancing. Mammography has reduced the advanced breast cancer rate. Although cancer can be treated at any stage, it is better detected and treated early. Breast cancer is the second most fatal form of cancer among women.
Although cancer plays a significant role in reducing the mortality rates among women, it has several disadvantages. The idea of going through mammography causes anxiety and distress. Sometimes there are false-positive results, whereby a doctor sees something that looks like cancer but is not. That is stressful for the woman. It is also time-consuming and expensive to conduct more tests to verify whether it is cancer. Apart from false-positive results, screening can also reveal false-negative results. That can delay locating tumors and giving medical interventions.
Mammograms can also lead to overdiagnosis. Since screening is done to detect cancers before they show any symptoms, it can lead to the detection of tumors that are not likely to cause any harm. These tumors may disappear without any form of intervention. They do not show any symptoms or cause problems.
Doctors cannot distinguish cancers that are likely to cause problems from those that will not. They treat all types of cancers. Overdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary medication and radiotherapy, which is not only time consuming but also painful. Such treatments cause unnecessary surgeries and psychological distress to the patient.
If doctors were able to distinguish harmful tumors from the harmless, irrelevant treatments would be curtailed. As a woman, it is impossible to know whether cancer screening will be beneficial or detrimental. However, it is better to go for a mammography test to get cancer treatment at an early stage.
References
Román, Rubén, et al. “Effect of false-positives and women’s characteristics on long-term adherence to breast cancer screening.” Breast cancer research and treatment 130.2 (2011): 543.
Lerman, Caryn, et al. “Psychological side effects of breast cancer screening.” Health psychology 10.4 (1991): 259.
