Woman Describes Decision To Forgo Mammograms In Washington Post Opinion Piece

In a Washington Post opinion piece on Tuesday, retired nurse practitioner Veneta Masson explains that she has opted out of routine screening mammograms because there is insufficient evidence of their effectiveness in prolonging life and preventing unnecessary treatment. Masson writes that in her "practice and personal life, [she] saw how women embraced the well-intentioned but relentless messages from medical, workplace and women's groups to 'take the test, not the chance.'"

However, "a few research reports began to filter into the media with a different point of view," she continues, adding, "They verified that benefit of mammography screening -- for a few women, at a significant cost in unnecessary follow-up and treatment for hundreds of others." Mammography advocates "don't consider whether the outcome would have been different without early detection," Masson writes. "The sad truth is that, despite excruciatingly slow advances in treatment, there is still no way of knowing with certainty whether the surgery, chemo or radiation 'got it all,'" according to Masson.

Although metastatic breast cancer "is terrible," the disease is "just as treatable and just as deadly regardless of screening," Masson continues." While she could die of breast cancer," it is "also possible that [she'll] die with cancerous changes in [her] breast (or some other location) that never progressed enough to cause harm." Masson concludes, "In the meantime, it's been 10 years since my last mammogram" (Masson, Washington Post, 10/12).


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