In the past week there have been two news headlines have gotten the attention of women everywhere and have provoked discussions.
The first headline discussed how the government wants to change the guidelines on mammograms. The proposed new guidelines recommend starting regular screening mammograms at age 50, rather than at age 40 as current guidelines recommend. They recommend screening before age 50 only for women with a much-higher-than-average risk of breast cancer. The proposed new guidelines also call for mammograms to be done every other year instead of every year, as recommended by current guidelines.
Are they kidding? Everyday there are women around the world being diagnosed with various stages of breast cancer. And some of these women are a lot younger than 40!
The second headline was about changing the screening process for cervical cancer. This one hit very close to home. The guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or ACOG now say women younger than 30 should undergo cervical cancer screening once every two years instead of an annual exam. And those age 30 and older can be screened once every three years. Some of you know, some don't so here is the story in a nutshell. My ex was a womanizer who slept around and lied about it. Because he told me we were monogamous we chose not to use condoms for the 3 years we were together. In April 2007 I got my first bad pad. I was horrified and scares and confused. Suddenly my Ob/GYN was telling me I had to have biospies, cancer screenings and all kinds of other invasive procedures. They wanted to start immediately. Thankfully I took it upon myself to demand a second opinion and that doctor recommended a specialist. It's been 2 years and 7 months and I am still going thru procedures. Over this time I have had a pap every 3 months. Out of all of those 2 came back clean and then all of a sudden they were abnormal again. I have 4 strains of HPV given to my by ex. They are the 4 cancer causing strains. Cervical cancer is a slow-growing cancer caused by exposure to certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted disease among women and men. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world. About 20 million Americans currently are infected with HPV, according to the CDC. In September I had yet another invasive procedure done and more biospies were taken. They came back the same: abnormal cells, HPV present. I have an oncologist in Boston watching my case file and this time I get a reprieve. I have a 6 month break and in March I go back. If its abnormal again we start to discuss surgical options. I am lucky that my doctor is throrough. I complain and cry right before every appointment and stress out until the results come back. Thankfully we are not at the cancer stage yet. But what if I had a pap in 2006 and then waited til 2009 to get another one. This virus would have been growing in my body for 3 years undetected. Yes cervical cancer rates are low but that doesnt' mean women should be told not to screen for it.
Ladies, you are the boss of your own health and body. You pay for your insurance, you choose your doctor. If don't like the advice they are giving you then switch. Make sure your insurance company is covering your exams. Make sure your doctor is giving them to you. Don't let the government decide when you should get screened for cancer. It's your life...fight for it!
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