Women Should Ignore New Mammogram Guideline, Ex-NIH Chief Says

Nov. 24 -- MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The fallout from last week's controversial recommendation that women delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer continues, with a former head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health advising women to ignore the guidelines.

"I'm saying very powerfully ignore them, because unequivocally this will increase the number of women dying of breast cancer," said Dr. Bernadine Healy, who was nominated to head the federal agency in 1991 by then-President George H.W. Bush.

"Women in their 40s have a very aggressive kind of breast cancer. They tend to progress fast. And to not screen women in that age group is astounding to me, and it goes against the bulk of individuals who are actually caring for patients," said Healy, the first woman to lead the National Institutes of Health and currently the health editor at U.S.News & World Report.

She made her comments Sunday during an appearance on the TV news program Fox News Sunday.

The controversial recommendation, released by an independent panel, said that women don't need to start undergoing mammograms until age 50, and then only need one every other year. Long-standing guidelines have said women should have annual mammograms after age 40.

The independent panel, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, said its recommendation was based on the latest and most accurate studies.

Many women immediately wondered if the guidelines would affect their insurance coverage for the breast cancer tests.

But women can rest assured, at least for now, that their health plan will continue to pay for an annual mammogram beginning at age 40. The federal task force's recommendation against "routine screening" of women under 50 isn't likely to spur hasty changes in coverage policies, experts say.

"We're not hearing that coverage is going to change. We're hearing that coverage will continue pretty much as it has been," said Susan Pisano, vice president of communications for America's Health Insurance Plans in Washington, D.C.