Obamacare starts by throwing women under the bus - die quicker if you get breast cancer, ladies.
Thsi is great, fewer women will be tortured by treating breast cancer early. Better for them to die quickly.
Previews of Government Run Healthcare
Lauri Regan
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published guidelines on breast cancer screening on Monday, which completely overturned previous advice by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association, and medical doctors who specialize in the field.
According to the USPSTF, women in their 40s should no longer undergo routine annual mammograms, women 50 and older should only have a mammogram every other year, and physicians should no longer teach women how to examine their breasts for indications of cancer. The task force concluded that none of these steps is of enough of a benefit to women when compared with the harms of a false positive (the stress of worry and costs of unnecessary additional tests).
I am not sure how many AT readers know people who were diagnosed with breast cancer in their 30s and 40s either through routine mammography or self-exams at home, but I personally know a handful and when I speak with friends and family, that number grows exponentially. With a woman being diagnosed with breast cancer every minute, one in seven being diagnosed at some point in their lives, and 40,000 dying annually from the disease, the government task force’s conclusions are astonishing and scary. Furthermore, the disease is more aggressive when diagnosed at a young age which makes early detection even more important. And what is the downside of early detection?
This is going to kill people. The death panel is here.
According to Phil Evans, a professor of radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and president of the Society for Breast Imaging,
“There’s a ton of scientific data in this country and others on screening that shows a significant benefit for women between 40 and 49 to be screened.”
Apparently, this task force, which receives its funding from the federal government although it is officially an independent group, disagrees.
It is hard not to conclude that this is a sign of things to come when the government gets involved with running a cost-benefit analysis at the expense of a segment of society that will likely bear the burden of its misguided decision-making. It will not be surprising if private insurance companies determine that they no longer have to pick up the tab on tests run outside of the scope of these recommendations. Worse yet will be the ill-informed decision by many women to stop their at home self-exams which add no cost to the medical system other than a follow-up visit to a doctor.
What makes the individuals on this task force qualified to tell me that it is not worth a little anxiety in order to prevent breast cancer? I personally would rather undergo a biopsy and find out that the lump that I felt or that showed up in the mammogram is simply a cyst or a calcium deposit than find out months later that I’m in a late-stage of cancer that may not be able to be cured. And I would venture to guess that under Obamacare, a late stage patient of breast cancer will probably not qualify for the costly medical treatments required in order to extend their lives.
While there is no doubt that these guidelines will be controversial and confusing to women, I can only hope that this preview of coming attractions under a government run healthcare system will wake that portion of the population still on board with Obamacare. For the chances of each and every one of them being touched by this disease is great enough that if they continue to support this power grab farce, they may ultimately pay the price with the unnecessary death of a loved one.
americanthinker.com
online.wsj.com
Dr. Syrin
Nov 17, 12:00 PM
________________________________________
I am an MD, and this is one area I deal with extensively. It is certainly true that screening mammograms lead to far more false positives that get worked up while detecting a small number of malignancies. The problem is this. What price is human life? As the author noted, and I can verify, breast cancer in younger women is typically much more aggressive so early intervention is critical. So what is the cost of doing 1000 screening mammograms which detect 5 early breast cancers versus the value of increasing the likelihood of survivability of those 5 women? I am the head of the cancer committee at my hospital, and we see far more breast cancers in women in their 30's and 40's than we do in women 60+ years old. So then you must factor in the productivity of these lives. These aren't people in the twilight of their lives. These are young women, mothers and wives, who are in the primes of their lives. I cannot fathom having some non-medical accounting team deciding the fate of these women. The timing of this is odd. This will not help ANYONE feel more comfortable with Obamacare.
One last thought. Libs fear the the big "evil" businesses, yet have no problem with big gov't, which is far more corrupt, and these sorts of decisions. Had this come from a team of insurance business execs, the outrage from the left would be overwhelming. I never cease being amazed at the hypocrisy of the left.
Posted by: Julia NYC
Nov 17, 12:06 PM
________________________________________
Obamacare is basically saying "Don't worry your pretty little head about something as complicated and scary as breast cancer. It might be a false positive, and that will upset you! And will also be expensive for our new Comrade-care. Come to think of it, even if you do have cancer, that will also be expensive for Comrade-care. It will be so much cheaper for our society if you just die quickly. For the good of the Party." Women voted for this clown in DROVES I might add. DROVES!!! When they could have had Hillary or Sarah Palin watching out for their best interests. For shame.
.......
Posted by: Jon W
Nov 17, 12:25 PM
________________________________________
If this isn't an interesting situation, I don't know what is. For women in particular.
Unless I've missed something, and I don't think I have, are women getting thrown under the Obama health care bus, before the bus even leaves the station(congress)?
When the 55% of women who voted for Obama hear this position on breast cancer,
are they going to stop and think to themselves, "My God, what have we done!?"
Are democrats like Pelosi, Boxer, and Feinstein, going to go along with this?
I can't wait to see the NYT's headline that says:
----Pelosi, Boxer, and Feinstein Oppose Early Breast Cancer Screening----
If social security is the "third rail" in politics, what is curtailing early breast cancer screening?
Has anyone ever seen a hammer mill?
.........
Posted by: anonymous
Nov 17, 12:30 PM
________________________________________
I've been getting mammograms for 10 years, and plan on getting one every year now that I've turned 50. The only way I will not take care of myself is if the fascist administration we have in place now get their way, and pass this nightmare of a "healthcare" bill.
If it passes, my private insurance will eventually go away, and then I will be forced to live in fear of contracting breast cancer the year I don't have my mammogram.
Posted by: ReaganLady
Nov 17, 12:30 PM
________________________________________
My Mother found the lump in her breast by doing her self examination in between mammograms, and now we're being told that doing our own exams is not worthy of being taught anymore? Everything that we've learned for 20+ years is now thrown out the window because of this report by an organization that 6 months ago was telling women to get their mammograms? Gee, what could possibly have happened in 6 short months that this panel reversed itself? hmmm?
Posted by: seven
Nov 17, 12:36 PM
________________________________________
This diagnostic design will increase morbidity. If the testing begins later and the interval between screenings increases, more women will be diagnosed in the latter stages of cancer. The panel knows better than the Med school grads do. This is a part of a death panel. They decide how often they will pay for a screening coupon. |
