Mammogram report is just plain wrong

I heard, with horror, the new guidelines the federal panel on breast cancer screening is suggesting for women and I have been angry about it since I heard it. I lost my sister to breast cancer a couple months ago, Aug. 10, and her case contradicts their supposed findings.

My sister was 45 in 1994 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. We had no recent family history, and she found it doing her self exam (aggressive breast cancer can come up between mammograms).

In case you didn't notice, I just contradicted three of the panel's assumptions. There was a doctor from Rush interviewed and he said it was all politics and money and I have to agree.

Is it any wonder that the American public hears all these "professional" panel opinions with skepticism?

I worry that the insurance companies will use this panel's advice and stop covering regular exams for women without a family history of breast cancer. I would be the first to admit, this hits home for me but we all need to be activists against this policy. It could be your mother, daughter, sister or friend.

Diane Drummond

Buffalo Grove