New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines and The Value of Breast Self Exams

Since their release earlier this week, there has been extensive controversy over the new US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations against routine mammograms for women under 50. These new recommendations have raised the ire of women across the US and have been disputed by the American Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and other cancer information and services organizations. USPSTF also questioned the value of breast self examination (BSE), saying it was not recommended because it has led to a high number of false positive results. That recommendation has also been called into question from a wide range of women’s organizations and individuals who have found breast lumps as a result of a BSE.

This latter recommendation hits home for me as my wife was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer and is being treated here at the Jefferson Breast Center. The cancer was not caught from a routine mammogram but rather through her own monthly breast self exam. As a result of that exam, she visited our family doctor immediately. After an ultrasound and additional tests confirmed her breast cancer, she started treatment.

Without her monthly breast self exam, who knows when she would have seen her doctor, received her diagnosis, and begun treatment? BSE is an important, individual personal health screening that can and should be done routinely. My wife is Hispanic. A study from the University of Arizona’s Zuckerman College of Public Health earlier this year reported that two-thirds of Hispanic women diagnosed with breast cancer discovered it through BSE and not from diagnostic services provided within the healthcare environment. The USPSTF recommendation against BSE, if applied nationwide, could adversely impact early detection of breast cancer, especially among diverse populations, many of whom do not routinely use our healthcare system.

Rob Simmons, DrPH, MPH, CHES, CPH
Director, MPH Program
Jefferson School of Population Health