Mammogram confusion: I'll take doctor's advice

This is a tough one for me.

I'm a strong believer in science. When an exhaustive review of breast cancer screening by scientists and physicians says women shouldn't start having mammograms until age 50, the science should carry the day.

But we all know women in their 40s who have died of breast cancer. Two of my high school classmates died this year alone. Both were mothers of young children. Their deaths were heartbreaking and senseless.

We also know of women in their 40s whose lives were saved by early detection of cancer.

But we also know women who have undergone painful needle biopsies when something didn't look quite right on their mammograms. More often than not, they were just fine.

So what do we do? Do we follow the recommendations of the U.S. Preventative Task Force and start a regular course of mammography at age 50? Or do we do what we've always done, undergo annual screenings starting at 40?

I wouldn't mind skipping the whole ordeal. As nurturing as the women at the Huntsman Cancer Institute's mammography department are, it's all I can do to schedule and show up for that annual appointment.

Now I have a convenient excuse not to go. The science says it doesn't make that much difference. The value of screenings has been oversold, the experts say.

For women who have a genetic propensity to develop breast cancer, the guidelines don't apply. As I understand it, however, a large percentage of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. What do such women do, just hope and pray the odds are on their side?

The science says the risk of developing breast cancer goes up with age. That would seem to support the task force recommendations.

The larger question is, how much longer will women, in consultation with their health-care providers, be in charge of deciding when to begin mammography? In other words, will insurance companies adopt the task force findings and decide not to cover mammography until age 50?

To add to the confusion, many experts disagree with the task force recommendations.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius attempted to distance herself from the recommendations last week, noting that the task force, impaneled by the previous administration, does not set federal policy. HHS policy is unchanged, she said.

What was that, playing politics with the science?

Worse yet were people who said the release of the task force report was timed to coincide with the raucous health-care debate in Congress. Please.

But whom are we to believe? To hear the task force tell it, we're not even to believe ourselves. Forget those self-exams, they say. They, too, lead to needless biopsies, mammograms and worry.