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(MINOT, ND)
Doctors at Trinity Health say they will hold firm to current recommendations when it comes to screening for breast cancer. That, despite of a set of recommendations issued this week by a federal panel.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that women delay getting regular mammograms until age 50 instead of 40. The task force further recommended that women between ages 50 and 74 get screened every two years instead of annually, and that doctors no longer urge women to obtain clinical breast exams or conduct monthly self-exams.

Dr. Kenneth Keller, co-director of Trinity’s Department of Radiology, Dr. Kevin Collins, Chief of Medical Staff and a radiation oncologist, and Dr. Stephen Makoni, medical oncologist at Trinity’s CancerCare Center, said Trinity will reinforce use of the current guidelines outlined by breast cancer organizations like the American Cancer Society, BreastCancer.org, and the American College of Surgeons. Those guidelines include screening mammograms beginning at age 40 for women with normal risk of developing breast cancer, along with breast self-examination by patients and clinical breast exams by healthcare providers.

The new USPSTF guidelines suggest a dramatic reversal in what has become widely accepted protocol for physicians and advocacy groups across the U.S. and here at Trinity Health,” Dr. Keller stated. “”Trinity supports the conclusions of the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) regarding screening mammography. These guidelines are supported by decades of clinical research that clearly demonstrates a significant reduction in breast cancer mortality related to screening mammography for all women