The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government panel of doctors and scientists came out and said that women should not get mammograms until they are 50 and that self exams are useless. The panel determined that such early and frequent screening led to unneeded biopsies and did not provide a significant increase in the odds of survival. The new guideline is more in line with World Health Organizations recommendations. The task force concluded that screening 1,300 women in their 50's to save a life was worth it but screening 1900 women in their 40s to save a life was not. You can read the full article hear. Every news outlet is posting the same story more or less. The link I have lists the complete story. This advice is contrary to the American Cancer Society who is standing by their own guidelines.

So is the beginning salvo in rationing health care? It may seem innocent enough but think about it. The American Cancer Society an organization who's goal is to prevent cancer deaths has developed their guidelines based on the idea of saving as many lives as possible. The government task force has based their guidelines based on reducing the number of biopsies performed and statistics. Isn't this rationing? Some women in the article are concerned that these new guidelines will give insurance companies an excuse for not covering the exams until they are 50 and they should be. Obama says that talk of health care rationing is all lies and scare tactics. Read this article and decide who is lying to whom.

I find it interesting that if you google the information in this article, you will find the same article over and over again without any independent commentary or insight. The article appears to cover both sides but like many propaganda pieces it starts out small. Pay attention to the tone of this article. Pay attention to the flow of the article. It begins with the basic proclamation then goes on to interview women who disagree then it goes to women who agree and ends with the endorsement of a doctor.

I find it very interesting in one part of the article where they are talking to women who have survived cancer with the very strong statement from a women named Claire Mayne of San Francisco. Ms. Mayne says, "The death rate is not going down because of the earlier mammograms. I'd feel comfortable telling a friend to wait until she was 50." That is a very authoritative answer but what is it based on? Is it based on her knowledge of breast cancer research? Is Ms. Mayne an expert in the field? Or did the reporter doing the interview feed her the statistics from the government and then added her response to those statistics in a very convincing way? It is also ironic that Ms. Mayne was diagnosed at age 37 when she found a lump during a self examination. A procedure that the task force says is useless.

In my opinion this new guideline is all about reducing the number of biopsies performed to reduce health care costs. It is not about saving lives. I expect we will see a lot more similar guidelines in the future when the government grabs control of the health care industry.

- Thomas Paine 2

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