Mammography

Some people just like to complain, and mammography has its share of detractors because of the radiation exposure and the high incidence of false positives. We don’t find the first complaint compelling.  The radiation dose of standard film mammography is already low but with the continuous refinement of digital mammography systems and their ability to potentially lower radiation exposure, this should really be a non-issue. 

The “false-positive” issue is a different story. 
Consider the numbers:  1000 women get a mammogram

• 100 women are called for a follow-up because of an abnormal finding
• 10 of these women are biopsied
• 2.5 have cancer

That’s a 97.5% false positive rate. 

My security system has a false positive rate worse than that, and I still turn it on every night.

To me, the only number that is worth paying attention to comes from Robert A. Smith, director of cancer screening for the American Cancer Society.  He found in a study that mammography screening reduced breast cancer deaths by 63%.  End of story.  Get a mammogram.