Revised Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations Guidelines Corroborate National Breast Cancer Coalition's Long-held Evidence-based Positions That Breast Self Examination Does Not Save Lives

For over a decade, National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), an organisation dedicated to ending breast cancer through the power of grassroots action and advocacy, has held the position that over-emphasis on the importance of breast cancer screening, despite a lack of strong evidence, has been elevated to such a degree that some even equate screening with prevention. They origanisation stresses mammography screening as a personal choice, not a public health message.NBCC hopes that the release of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised recommendations will put screening and its limitations into proper perspective. The revised USPSTF guidelines recommend against universal screening mammography for women aged 40-49, recommend every other year screening for women 50-74, rather than annual screening, and recommend against teaching breast self-examination.”We hope that policy makers, the public and the health care community will take the time to carefully analyze the basis of the revised recommendations. Women have been given different messages for years, but unfortunately those messages were not based on strong evidence,” said NBCC president, Fran Visco. “Women deserve the truth even when it is complicated. They can accept it.”The NBCC believes that everyone deserves to know the facts and has the right to make informed decisions regarding their health care and encourages women to make informed decisions regarding screening based on the actual evidence.