Health
Seniors and breast cancer: Why aren’t older women told to get mammograms?
A major public health agency last week expanded its breast cancer screening guidelines to include younger women — but some people are concerned that one key age group has been excluded.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced on April 30 that women between ages 40 and 74 should get mammograms every other year.
This is a significant change from previous guidelines, which said women should begin biennial mammograms at age 50, but could opt to begin as young as 40.
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Some experts object to the fact that the agency doesn’t include official screening recommendations for women older than 74.
“The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older,” the agency stated in the guidance.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced on April 30 that women between the ages of 40 and 74 should get mammograms every other year. (iStock)
Dr. Denise Pate, medical director with Medical Offices of Manhattan and contributor to LabFinder, voiced her disagreement with the lack of mammogram recommendations for older women.
“I think it is an antiquated view that sells short the potential of women older than 75,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“The recommendations consider that the older population may be over-diagnosed, potentially with slow-growing breast cancers — but this does not take into account the increase in life expectancy for American women.”
A woman who is 75 right now has a life expectancy of 87, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lack of research
One of the main reasons that women over 74 were excluded is that the age group was not included in clinical trials.
“When the major randomized controlled trials were performed in the 1970s and 1980s to show how effective mammograms are, they didn’t include enough women in those age groups to confirm their necessity,” Dr. Jacqueline Holt, medical director of women’s imaging for national radiology provider RadNet in Wilmington, Delaware, told Fox News Digital.
One of the main reasons that women over age 74 were excluded is that the age group was not included in clinical trials. (iStock)
“Cancer risk doesn’t drop off at 74 — the risk increases,” she said.
“It’s misinformation that cancers grow slower in this age group and that women will die of something else first.”
Risks vs. benefits
The primary risk noted for screening older women is the potential for false positives.
“The potential harms of breast cancer screening in older women include false positive results and overdiagnosis,” said one study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
“Cancer risk doesn’t drop off at 74 — the risk increases.”
Among women 75 years and older, 200 out of 1,000 who are screened over a 10-year period will experience a “false alarm,” the researchers noted, “which can cause pain, anxiety and distress.”
Pate acknowledged that this risk does exist.
“Of course, with continued screening, there is the continued risk of finding breast cancer in an earlier stage or finding a suspicious image that prompts recommendations for biopsy, proving to be a false positive — and this can cause a lot of anxiety,” she said.
The risks of not screening are “leaving these women in the dark about their status,” a doctor said. (iStock)
The risks of not screening, however, are “leaving these women in the dark about their status,” the doctor said.
“As I always explain to my patients, knowledge is power,” Pate told Fox News Digital.
“I would rather choose anxiety about a biopsy that may or may not prove breast cancer versus anxiety of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for a cancer that is found too late due to lack of screening.”
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Holt agrees the benefits outweigh the risks.
“The primary risk that the USTF focuses on is anxiety due to false positives or callbacks that don’t lead to a diagnosis of cancer,” she told Fox News Digital.
“The death rate has decreased by at least 40% since 1995, thanks to mammographic screenings finding the cancer earlier and better treatment.”
“The death rate has decreased by at least 40% since 1995, thanks to mammographic screenings finding the cancer earlier and better treatment,” a doctor said. (iStock)
Women do have the option to continue screening beyond the age of 74 if they choose, the doctors noted — and this should be covered by their insurance plan.
“There is no cut-off for age,” Holt noted. “Medicare will still cover the cost of a mammogram.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) all recommend mammograms starting at age 40.
“Age alone should not be the basis to continue or discontinue screening.”
“Each of these three groups bases its stop age on a woman’s life expectancy and not simply on their age,” Pate noted.
The ACS has stated that women should continue receiving mammograms as long as they are in overall good health and expect to live for another 10 years or more.
More than one-quarter of cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women 75 years and older, according to ACOG.
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“Age alone should not be the basis to continue or discontinue screening,” according to a statement from ACOG.
“Beyond age 75 years, the decision to discontinue screening mammography should be based on a shared decision-making process informed by the woman’s health status and longevity.”
More than one-quarter of cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women 75 years and older, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (iStock)
Dr. Wanda Nicholson, chair of the USPSTF, sent a statement to Fox News Digital about the decision to omit women over age 74 in the recommendations.
“Women deserve to know what the science says about how they can best stay healthy as they age,” she said.
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“We looked carefully at all the available evidence about whether women who are 75 and older should be screened for breast cancer, but unfortunately, the available research was limited.”
“Women deserve to know what the science says about how they can best stay healthy as they age,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“None of the studies of breast cancer screening included women in this age group, so we are urgently calling for more evidence on this important population.”
She added, “In the meantime, we encourage women who are 75 and older to talk with a trusted health care professional about what preventive care is right for them, given their specific health circumstances.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the ACOG and the ACS requesting additional comment.
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Researchers have shed fresh light on how a simple, centuries-old Chinese practice could be almost as effective as some medications in lowering blood pressure.
Baduanjin is a form of exercise that’s been widely practiced in China for at least 800 years. It involves a series of eight slow movements, gentle breathing and meditation — and typically takes only about 10 minutes to complete.
In a clinical trial, researchers studied 216 adults age 40 and older with Stage 1 hypertension. Over the course of a year, participants performed either baduanjin, self-directed exercise or brisk walking.
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Researchers found that participants who practiced baduanjin five times per week experienced lower blood pressure within three months.
The results were “comparable to reductions seen with some first-line medications,” they wrote in their report published by the American College of Cardiology.
High blood pressure, if left untreated, can lead to heart attack and stroke. Now, researchers have shed new light on how a simple, centuries-old Chinese practice could be almost as effective as some medications in lowering blood pressure. (andreswd/Getty Images)
Baduanjin also showed “comparable results and safety profile to brisk walking at one year,” the researchers further reported.
“Given its simplicity, safety and ease at which one can maintain long-term adherence, baduanjin can be implemented as an effective, accessible and scalable lifestyle intervention for individuals trying to reduce their [blood pressure],” said the senior author of the study, Jing Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Matthew Saybolt, medical director of the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Structural Heart Disease Program, said he was surprised by an aspect of the study’s results.
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“I was biased and expected that higher intensity exercise like brisk walking would have resulted in greater improvement in blood pressure than baduanjin, but the effects were the same,” Saybolt told Fox News Digital. (He was not affiliated with the study.)
Dr. Antony Chu, clinical assistant professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine, was born and raised in the U.S. to immigrant parents — his mother is from Hong Kong and his father is from Taiwan.
Practitioners of baduanjin, such as those in this class, incorporate slow movements with mindful breathing. (Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images)
Having spent a lot of summers in Asia, Chu told Fox News he experienced “the best of both worlds” concerning Eastern and Western medicine, including exposure to the benefits of baduanjin.
“[These researchers] are taking a lot of things that have been commonplace for many, many centuries or millennia and then just applying mathematical modeling and statistical analysis to sort of give [them] some credibility,” Chu said.
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“Western medicine is reactionary,” Chu also said.
He compared the philosophies to a house on fire: Eastern medicine practitioners are more invested in preventing the fire, whereas Western medicine is more focused on “all those things that it would need to do to try to put that fire out,” he said, sharing his opinion.
A new study shows how people with high blood pressure can reduce it without medicine. (FG Trade/Getty Images)
Left untreated, high blood pressure has dangers that are “too numerous to count,” Saybolt said. The risks include increased risks of stroke, heart attack, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure.
Baduanjin, Chu said, is effective at reducing blood pressure, which he likened to “the water pressure and the pipes of your house,” by calming the nervous system and reducing stress.
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“People are totally stressed out,” Chu said. “And stress reduction is huge.”
Saybolt said the study offers hope for people with hypertension — “and that hope doesn’t immediately have to include pharmaceuticals.”
Baduanjin is easily incorporated into most lifestyles and can be done without equipment almost anywhere and at any time. (Getty Images)
Saybolt added that he’s always advocated for lifestyle modifications, including healthy diet and exercise, “as key therapies for treatment of diseases and to improve longevity.”
With the baduanjin data, Saybold said he is now “more optimistic than ever,” as “we have evidence that a very low impact exercise with mindfulness can yield a benefit.”
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Chu said that translating overwhelming medical guidelines is a big part of his job.
“It’s not to just tell somebody, ‘Hey, your blood pressure’s too high, pick a pill,” he said.
Baduanjin has been a preventative health practice the Chinese have been incorporating into their routines for centuries. (Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images)
“Lifestyle changes” can be daunting for many people, he added.
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“They always make it sound like you have to live for seven years in Tibet on a mountain somewhere, and it’s really not that.”
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His simple translation for the baduanjin study is this: “Close the door in your office and just say, ‘I can’t be bothered for 10 minutes,’ and just focus on breathing slowly and moving your arms or legs around.”
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Gabe Poirot says he ‘met Jesus’ during an 18-day coma
Kayleigh McEnany interviews Gabe Poirot, who shares his extraordinary near-death experience during an 18-day coma in October 2021. Poirot describes leaving his body, encountering Jesus, and witnessing how heaven is a person rather than a place. He also discusses his book, ’18 Days in Heaven,’ detailing his spiritual journey and message of hope.
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Rudy Giuliani, 81, is recovering from a severe case of viral pneumonia that led him into a coma in early May.
The former New York City mayor returned to his online talk show “America’s Mayor Live!” on May 13 and opened up about his health status.
“I feel like I’ve recovered 100%,” he said. “I’ve been home a few days and doing really, really well.”
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Giuliani reflected on his time in the hospital, revealing that he had a “very significant spiritual experience” while he was in a “state of out of it.”
“I would equate it to a dream of being on line headed for — I can’t say headed for heaven — headed for a trial with St. Peter,” he described.
Rudy Giuliani attends the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City in September 2024. The former New York City mayor, 81, is recovering from a severe case of viral pneumonia that led him into a coma in early May. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“And there was a very, very significant intervention by my Peter. I have my own Peter, Peter Powers. Peter J. Powers, my friend of my lifetime.”
During this dream state, Peter said some “very significant words,” which Giuliani made sure to repeat and have others record when he woke up, he shared.
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“As soon as I could, I wrote it out so that I wouldn’t forget it, and it’s meant a lot to me, and I’ve been reflecting on it quite a bit,” he added.
Giuliani was able to discuss his experience with a priest — and plans to share more at a different time.
“I don’t want to embellish it,” he said. “I don’t want to deny what was there.”
Powers and Giuliani reportedly became friends in high school. Powers later served as Giuliani’s campaign manager and his first deputy mayor. He died in 2016 at 72 years old from complications with lung cancer, according to multiple news outlets.
Giuliani was hospitalized in critical but stable condition on Sunday, May 3, due to severe breathing issues.
Giuliani’s doctor, Maria Ryan, told Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl that the former mayor began feeling ill after returning from a trip to Paris, with his breathing deteriorating to the point that he was placed on a ventilator.
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Ryan said his condition turned critical, prompting a priest to be called to his bedside to perform last rites. But by Tuesday, Giuliani’s condition had improved enough for doctors to remove him from the ventilator.
According to political strategist Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s response and exposure to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease.
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani stands with Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and Emergency Management Director Richard Scheirer before dedicating a public viewing platform overlooking the World Trade Center attack site in New York on Dec. 29, 2001. (Kathy Willens/AP)
Although Giuliani and his doctors have not confirmed that he had a “near-death experience,” similar encounters are often reported by people emerging from critical medical situations.
In a 2023 review published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers analyzed more than four decades of reports of near-death experiences, involving more than 2,000 studies and nearly 500 individuals.
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Near-death events were categorized into four types of experiences: emotional, cognitive, spiritual/religious and supernatural.
The research identified common traits in these reports – especially having out-of-body experiences, passing through a tunnel, having heightened senses, seeing deceased people or religious figures, encountering a bright light and reviewing life events.
A detailed view of the 19th century statue of Saint Peter the Apostle holding a gold key, symbolizing the key to heaven, located in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Rome. (iStock)
Although these experiences can differ by interpretation, the researchers concluded that the heightened senses and improved consciousness indicate that “these experiences are neither dreams nor sleep, nor the disorders caused.”
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“This phenomenon is medically inexplicable,” they wrote, adding that the research points to a consistent pattern that “supports the clarity and authenticity of near-death experiences.”
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed reporting.
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