I am the 1. Are you?

sta1129

This is why these guidelines upset me so much - I am the one. Mammograms under 40 benefit 1 out of 1904, and according to these guidelines, the life of that 1 is not worth it. I am that 1.

They dismiss the unnecessary stress of benign biopsies for the 1900+ women who won't benefit from mammography. They dismiss self exam as negligibly helpful. Again, I am the 1 who lives because of these annoyances.

I found a lump at age 37 through self exam. I had a doctor who DIDN'T say 'you're too young - ignore it' and I had a biopsy. It was benign, but I had a surgeon who insisted on a routine mammogram follow-up after the biopsy. That mammogram at 38 found my cancer. Early. Treatable.

These guidelines dismiss almost all of those steps. I am the 1 death that they think is acceptable by putting forth these guidelines.

Are you? 

Lolita

I fit the criteria.  I was 42 when my breast cancer was found.  I had mamograms every six months for two years because of calcifications, and then I had a biopsy. Maybe I was saved.

But, maybe not.  Why isn't the death rate going down given the extensive use of mammograms?  That's what happened with colonoscopies.  There were fewer advanced cases and fewer deaths because the cancer was caught early. This just hasn't happened with breast cancer.

Is it possible that I could have lived with my breast cancer for the next 40  years?  The bottom line is that there needs to be more research into how to distinguish those cancers that will not cause harm from those that will.  Mammograms often don't detect the fast growing breast cancers in time.  Mammograms may cause slow growing breast cancers to be over-treated. We don't know. I am glad that my cancer was found and treated, but it would be better if I knew for sure that it needed to be.

HKitty71

Ask any spouse, child, family or friends if our lives do not matter......and I believe they will tell you a different story.

CasinoGirl

I was diagnosed at age 42 by a mammo that indicated a cluster of microcalcifications that turned out to be invasive breast cancer.  There was nothing ont he previous years' mammo.  I do not know if I could have lived until age 50 or not with my  IDC and I do not care to find out.

I will always be an advocate for early detection by the best tool we have available - mammograms.

lvtwoqlt

I was diagnosed with ADH at age 44 with calcifications on the left side. Just before my 46th birthday again ADH on the right. 6 months later, DCIS on the right, no lumps or any physical symptoms, just calcifications on the mammogram. by having the mammograms before 50, my cancer was found in stage 0 not a higher stage.

Sheila

Jane_M

I was diagnosed Stage III, grade 3 at 44.  My tumor was 5.5 cm.  Can you imgaine how large it would have been if I didn't have a mammogram until I was 50?

cheers247

I am the one too... They said I am too young.  Breast cancer does not care how old you are.  I have NO family history, I am BRCA-, NO risk factors.  I'm stage IIIC IBC and IDC.  A mamogram found it, even though I have dense breasts.

MAMAQ

I am the one, too.  Though I had a huge red flag on my family history, my OLD (I don't go to him anymore) ob/gyn told me not to worry about it.  You see, I had a grandfather who had bc.  My old Ob/gyn told me it doesn't go from males to female. (A lot he knows)  But he did send me for a baseline at 38. (almost 39)  At 40 it was time for my next one, so I went.  I did not think they would find anything but I wanted to go anyways.  Well, on my routine mammogram they found microcalcification that were then biopsied and showed a microinvasion.  I then tested BRCA2+. Then a double mastectomy and SNB.  Which found a micrometastisis in my lymph.  Stage 2.  So, if it wasn't for the mammogram, I don't know where I would be at 50.  But my guess is it wouldn't be very good. 

Lovegolf

I am one .  Here a quote from release

The task force advice is based on its conclusion that screening 1,300 women in their 50s to save one life is worth it, but that screening 1,900 women in their 40s to save a life is not, Brawley wrote.

Well I think I worth it and so are the rest of us.  

lexislove

I am 1 too.

 Found my lump when I was 29, January 2007. Doctor dismissed it. August 2007. 30 yrs old,  "lump" was 8cm ...mammogram got it.

 I'll never forget the look of the x ray techs face when she came back to tell me that I needed a biopsy ASAP.

cookiegal

I am the one.

Another one might become the first woman president or the United Stages or the firefighter who saves a child, or the musician or artist or writer who defines an era. She might be the chef who would make you the best meal you have ever tasted, or the woman destined to be your wife.

We are not just statistics who will not be missed.

We are one and we are thousands.

Would we allow terrorists to take the lives of more than a thousand Americans every year and do nothing about it?

No, we put up with inconvenient screenings in the airport, that rarely catch anyone or anything. We do the best we can to save lives. 

Don't get me wrong, I feel for my friends who have had biopsy after biopsy year after year, and are in their early forties. I do wonder if there is something wrong with the system.

But to write off our lives is so chilling....we need to put a face on these numbers.

Laceyk

I am the one also. 

lisettemac

I am the one ... and this is my story.
 
I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer at age 39, just a few months shy of my 40th birthday.  I had gotten my first mammogram early because I had met my medical insurance deductible for the year.  I had no genetic markers for breast cancer and no known family history so there was no reason to think I would be the unlucky 1 in 8 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.  Yet there it was -- a lump the size of a pencil eraser -- undetectable by self breast exam (something else the Task Force doesn't recommend).  Like so many women who are diagnosed before age 50, my form of cancer was especially aggressive and spreading like wildfire.  Had I waited until 50 for that mammogram as the Task Force recommends ... well, I'm sure I wouldn't have made it to 50.
 
I can understand that the Task Force is looking at the cost of unnecessary procedures.  Especially at this time in our nation's history, we should be asking about the cost of unnecessary procedures.  But that does not mean we should throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.  We should work to improve screening.  We should do what we can to improve staging and other evaluations of cancer so that patients get optimal treatment and are not overtreated.  We should improve treatments so that fewer lives are lost.
 
I may be only one life that was saved.  But it's the only life I've got and I plan to live each day of it to the fullest, thanks to a mammogram at age 39.

nene2059

I am the one also.  I found one of my IDC's when I felt the lump doing a BSE.  I had done other BSE's so I knew what felt right to me and what did not. These are the same BSE's that this panel are not only saying do nothing, they are DISCOURAGING them.  They are actually saying that doctors should discourage women from knowing the feel of their bodies.  DISCOURAGE.  Wow how about we are just taken outside and shot.  I was 36 by the way when I felt my lump. If I had waited til 50, well that is ridiculous, there is no way I would have made it to 50.  By 40 I would probably have been stage IV.  I also did not have a doctor that said that I was too young or put me off.  Quick diagnosis got me into chemo one month to the day of my mammogram.  I know that my ONE life affects many others that would have their lives devastated if I left them. If mammograms are not the answer then what is the alternative, or better yet, the solution?  This is the second leading cancer killer of women.  I think it is  what, 80% or more that are diagnosed have no family history and are not considered "high risk"?  Who do we give these precious under 50 screenings to then? 20% of people that have had a close relative that had BC?  I have known other women that have had one of these "traumatizing" benign biopsies and none of them seem to be lying in the fetal position afraid to move.  They are just fine because they were told it was benign.  Something that any one of us would have loved to hear.  If it becomes that insurance companies do not cover them anymore and women have to pay for them then more women will die.  We all know  that most are not willing or able to pay out of pocket for something routine. Sorry this is so long but I truly thought any recommendations about BC screening would LOWER the age not raise it.  This is beyond comprehension.

Ozzi

I am the one. . . . .  I thought the exact same thing today.   We should get t-shirts printed up and march on Washington.  I am not kidding.  Diagnosed at 42 by mammography. . . .

desdemona222b

I am the one, too.  I am not a statistic, either.

mittmott

I am the 1 also.  I would probably be dead by now.  Instead I am stage 1 twice, living my life with my family.

swest

I am the on too!  I found my lump with SBE at 42.  Because my OBGYN had me start mammograms at 38 for a baseline they were able to diagnose me early (Stage I) and saved my life.  My cancer was triple negative and grade 3.  No doubt, if I'd waited to 50 I'd be dead.  I too had no family history of BC.

glostagirl

Tears are streaming down my face as I read your stories.  It's very powerful, keep them coming. You never know who may be touched by these stories of real women with real breast cancer.   Those of you who don't yet have an avatar photo should consider putting one up, all the more powerful to look into the face and eyes of a survivor.

I am one who did skip mammos for a few years.  I found the first lump myself it was Triple Negative, Grade 3, IDC.  I had surgery, chemo, then radiation.  Four months after radiation and one month after a thorough exam by my PCP I found a second lump, more surgery, more chemo. I for one, will not be giving up self exams any time soon.  Nor would I would rely on a doctor to examine my breasts just once a year for screening!  Know your own body is my mantra!   

sta1129

I'm with glostagirl - thank you (as always) for the stories, the strength, and the outrage. I'm with Ozzi - we should get shirts for that march. Name the date for the march and I'm there.

Not even an oncologist, radiologist, or breast surgeon on the panel.

cancerviking

I am the 1!   At age 41, my doctor scheduled my routine mammogram.  The mammogram  found my 1.7 cm IDC triple negative breast cancer before anyone could feel the lump.  I'm convinced I am here today and celebrating 2 years cancer free because of a mammogram.   

Pam S 

sta1129

From the NYTimes website story:

"the idea that one cancer death is prevented for roughly 2,000women screened "doesn't mean anything until you're the one," said Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of gynecology at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan. "No doubt about it , I'm going to say, 'Well, you really don't need it,' and they're going to say: 'You don't understand. I'm getting the mammogram. I'm not going to take the chance to be the one person that has it."

StrongBroad

I am the one.  My routine, baseline mammogram was done at age 39 and I was diagnosed with invasive cancer - stage 1, Her2+.  No family history. No BRCA 1 or 2. No risk factors. Under the new guidelines, I would not have had a mammogram and my cancer wouldn't have been caught until it was too late. And to top that?  It's been four years and I have a recurrence in the same breast - found by routine mammogram.  I'm 43 and about to have a bilateral mastectomy.  Still wouldn't have been sent for a mammogram.  I would have been doomed.

 I am the one.  I want there to be many more ones!

tkone

I am the one too.

I was 43 when I was diagnosed.  I found my lump myself.  Is my life worth it?  Ask my daughters, ask my husband, ask my sister, my nieces, my mother, my grandmother, my friends.  You bet your ass I'm worth it.

AnnNYC

I''m with glostagirl too.

And SuzNY -- you're right, 1200 lives a year taken by terrorists would be an appalling atrocity.  How is this any less?

And we're talking about a lot of "ones."  According to the 2000 Census, there were 23,836,822 women in the U.S. ages 39-49.  Divide that by 1,904.  You get 12,519 "ones."  And those are just the number of expected deaths over 10 years of no mammograms.  What about the injury of delayed diagnosis and treatment for women who will survive their later-stage BC, but could have been treated better, earlier -- if detected earlier?

How, how, how can anyone be "for" this?  I'm reeling...

mjrogers

I am the One.  My husband, daughter and siblings are so grateful that I am.  I am OFFENDED by the recommendations as well. I found my cancer at the age of 45. I am alive now because of SBE. How can anyone justify telling women it's a waste of time? It doesn't cost a dime... maybe that is the problem. No one has figured out how to make money off of SBEs. Instead of settling down with time I am getting more and more angry and offended. Unbelievable.

lbrewer

There definately needs to be more research, but not doing the tests currently available is NOT the answer.  The death rate outside of the US in countries that do not screen until 50 is much higher than in the US.  I read that the panel said the death rate would only rise 3% if screening are delayed and that would justify the cost savings. 

Welocme to government health care.

I'm one of the 3 %!

tweetybird

I'm the one that if I "waited" until I was 50 for my first mamo instead of 35, my stage 0, DCIS, would have been at a much higher stage, and need more than a lumectomy and rads. Do they think by saving $200 a year would be alot "cheaper" than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on multiple surgeries, chemo, radiation, and God knows what else? How could they even think about putting a price tag on our lives!

I also think that my 12 and 16 year old nieces are the "ones" that if they wait until they are 50, who knows if they would even be alive to have their first mamo.

allvirgo71

I am that 1 as well, age 38 with DCIS - hmmm maybe I shouldve waited for the new guidelines. THEN I'd be much older and god knows how far the DCIS wouldve spread or what it wouldve become.

azdiva

Although I am horrified by the new recommendations, I have to say that my tumor was not seen on the mammogram.  Even though it was felt by me, my doctor and the technician.  She put the ring on it to highlight it on the mammo, and still not seen.  I had my first real real fit in a medical office and insisted on an u/s (due to a snafu on the form, they hadn't scheduled it automatically).  Thankfully, a tech gave up her lunch to do it.  One week later I was in for the u/s guided biopsy, and the whole cancer cycle started.  I am 44, with Stage IIa, Grade 3 IDC.  I don't think I would be here if they disregarded my BSE.

You know what works?  MRIs.  See if they'll recommend that.  HA!  Yes, it gives false positives.  But we are saved from unnecessary radiation.  But, evidently, too expensive (even though they would save money on the more expensive treatments that later stage BC requires).  U/S works.  Can't imagine it is that much more expensive than mammo.  It does take longer.  

We all see that younger and younger women are getting this.  Discouraging them from getting the diagnostic tools needed IS JUST CRIMINAL!!

Laura 

Moi

Me, too.  I am the one.