The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an arm of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, now says annual mammograms do more harm than good for women in their 40s, and that the once-recommended self-inspection is worthless.
No matter what the so-called scientific objections are to back the task force up, it all boils down to dollars and cents. Mammograms aren't cheap.
Time to get personal here. Some years ago my then-wife -- still in her late 30s -- detected a lump in her breast. A mammogram showed it was there, and an ultrasound pinpointed it. She went in for a biopsy (where the lump was removed), and it proved to be benign -- fibroids, it turned out. Very scary time in the household for a few weeks. To be honest, I could have handled it better on my end. I was trying (unsuccessfully) to put on a calm front during the crisis. All the emotional stuff that came with it, well, I kept it to myself. I didn't tell anybody, but I felt like improvising a song about it when it was over.
The sole point of my story is that, yes, cancer is an issue with the sub-50 crowd. For a task force of so-called experts to say there's nothing to worry about, well, it doesn't make any sense until you crank in the dollars-and-cents issue.
Call me crazy, but I see this as a preparatory step to universal (i.e. government) health care. Discount the validity of certain procedures, tell the public they're not necessary, and cut costs that way. Like it or not, it's a sneak peek at how health care will be rationed.
Shoot, health care under our current insurance system is screwed up enough. But get the federal government in the picture, things get from bad to worse in a hurry.
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