Published on CNN by Gayle Sulik and Bonnie Spanier.
(CNN) — Recently some friends were discussing whether early detection via screening mammography may not be the key to surviving breast cancer. Several women argued that despite the studies, they believe in mammograms, echoing many women who were treated for a screen-detected breast cancer and are alive to tell the story. Some even support it when screening clearly failed to detect their cancers or prevent the onset of advanced disease.
For decades, belief in some version of “early detection cures breast cancer and saves lives” has shaped our view. In the 1970s, when women like Betty Ford and the late Shirley Temple Black were lifting the veil of secrecy and shame surrounding breast cancer, finding the disease “early” meant being alert to symptoms to find a tumor before it got so large it poisoned the body. In this context, it was logical to try to find tumors before they got to this point.
Today “early detection” means something very different.
Editor’s note: Gayle Sulik is a medical sociologist, founder of the Breast Cancer Consortium and author of “Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women’s Health.” Follow her on Twitter: @pinkribbonblues. Bonnie Spanier is a molecular microbiologist, emerita professor at the University at Albany (SUNY) and co-founder of Capital Region Action Against Cancer.
