Women Only Breast Cancer screening senior women

[maki2]

This conversation is not about telling you to go get screened it is more about a societal issue of when and the frequency.

I went down an internet research rabbit hole today looking at recommended screening mammography exams. I saw that when I turn 74 it dropped from yearly to every two years? How could that possibly be? Was something magical going to happen to my body on that birthday?

It turns out some persons who make recommendations for health care coverage are basing only needing every other year screenings on the average life expectancy for women being 84. That if you are only going to live 10 more years after age 74 there is really no point in getting annual exams? Ageism at its finest? O it is simply more like the system trying to cut health care cost? Either way it has nothing to do with a physiological basis of a lower risk of getting breast cancer after the age of 74.

 

[WanderingRose]

I had read this some time ago, and didn’t pay any attention to it because my doctor orders them annually.

Insurance companies are always looking for ways to cut corners.

 

[Morgana]

Here's a good article describing the pro's and con's of continuing mammograms after age 74
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/health/breastcancer-elderly-old-age.html
It's about a lot more than whether your life is still considered worth the cost.

The article links to a set of decision aids for older women and men on whether to get several medical procedures. Apparently there are a lot of grey zones partly because us olds don't get included as much in medical studies.

I did notice that my last annual checkup was pretty cursory. I wondered whether they've just changed how they do these things or if I'm aging into a different protocol. They didn't /seem/ like "oh poo, you're old, who cares?" -- and I got decent answers to anything I took the initiative to ask, plus labs up the yinyang -- but dang they do zip through these appointments at the speed of light.

 

[maki2]

The free Medicare senior annual wellness check is indeed cursory. I get treated just fine as I picked my GP because she listed geriatric care as one of her practice special interest. A sensible choice for a doctor to me at the time as I was old enough to get Medicare.

 

[WanderingRose]

The NYT article has a paywall preventing reading, if you could copy and paste the relevant sections that would be helpful.

I have a new PCP who covers birth to grave, and she does a “Medicare” physical annually which includes cognitive functioning tests and she says is what Medicare wants.

This exam took about an hour.

Not to digress too much, but it is my experience that we have to advocate for ourselves with our healthcare and, when we are not able to do that, ideally have a trusted other authorized to do that for us.

 

[Morgana]

Very sorry, I can't get it to work now, the digital gremlins are out. Maybe somebody who hasn't used the NYT website in the last month can access it (you are supposed to get a limited # of articles free a month) and do that.

I'm pretty sure the other link is not behind a paywall, and it should give most of the same information, only less fleshed out with real-life stories and expert quotes.

The main point that I remember is that the risk/benefit ratio of a mammorgram changes eventually. For example, many of the cancers it detects would not grow enough to be a problem within the likely remaining lifespan, and treatment could reduce quality of life and/or interfere with treatment for other conditions. I don't remember what the other risks of a mammo are.

But don't rely on my memory; the reality is guaranteed to be more complicated. If you really want to know, I'm sure there's paywall-free info out there. Try medlineplus.gov, the Mayo Clinic, or the Cleveland Clinic.

Also I'm pretty sure there are differences of opinion in the medical community, which is another reason not to rely on my quick-and-dirty summary.

On another note, I don't see anybody complaining about the end of Pap smears -- my only thought when they told me was break out the champagne.

 

[user 22017]

The NYT article has a paywall preventing reading, if you could copy and paste the relevant sections that would be helpful.

The Chicago Tribune has the same article for free:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/feat...0200321-6alydlu6lndptmlgqjomb3k6ma-story.html

 

[WanderingRose]

Thank you.

 

[Anniesezhi]

After working in healthcare for years, and reading all sorts of research, I have decided that they are not needed except for about every 5 years unless you have a specific risk factor.