Mammograms have saved many lives

To the editor:

Shame on the American Cancer Society. The medical community knows from experience that the survival rate for breast cancer among premenopausal women is significantly less than post-menopausal women who are usually over 50. The practice of providing annual mammograms for women 40 years old and over has saved many lives.

Using the excuse that mammograms before 45 unnecessarily stress out women because of false positives makes me angry. That is the most outrageous thing I have heard in a long time. Does the insurance industry and the American Cancer Society think we're so weak that we can't take being upset by a false positive?

I'm speaking from my own personal experience. Having gone through this numerous times over many years because of cysts, I can tell you firsthand that it was always a great relief to learn that they weren't breast cancer after all. The stress that I experienced in the interim was minimal compared to the stress experienced with a diagnosis of late stage breast cancer, which is possible if women are told to wait until 45 years old for screening mammograms.

Stick to the procedures that have saved many lives. A large percentage of women are still raising small children at 40. Keep them alive, their children need them.

Nancylee Ziese

Co-Founder Iowa Breast Cancer Action Foundation

Cedar Rapids