Epidemiology of Breast Cancer
The chosen article discusses the benefits of screening for breast cancer using mammography and breast self-exam (BSE) and includes recommendations, rationales, and evidence that supports the proposal. NURS 6700 Wk 8 Epidemiology of Breast Cancer There has been a significant decrease in breast cancer rates in women in the United States due to early screening and advanced treatment. The U.S. Preventative task force (USPSTF) finds evidence that screening with film mammography reduces breast cancer mortality, with a greater absolute reduction for women aged 50 to 74 years than for women aged 40 to 49 years, with the strongest evidence for the greatest benefit is among women aged 60 to 69 years (2009). The reason for this is that false positive reports are more common for women aged 40 to 49 and a concern for over diagnosis in the older age group. There is also strong evidence associated with harms with teaching BSE and inadequate evidence with harms of clinical breast exam (CBE). The harms associated with breast screening include psychological, unnecessary imaging tests and biopsies, inconvenience due to false positive screenings, over diagnosis, unnecessary early treatment, and radiation exposure. NURS 6700 Wk 8 Epidemiology of Breast Cancer