Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a sponsor of breast cancer legislation in the Senate, said this afternoon that she disagrees with new breast cancer detection guidelines issued this week by a government-appointed panel.
The U.S. Preventive Services Tasks Force said this week that they no longer encourage women to have mammograms in their 40s and they should have them once every two years after that -- down from once a year. They also recommended against teaching women about breast self-exams.
Klobuchar introduced a bill in the Senate several months ago, however, which would provide funding to educate young women about early detection, including self-exams. The House sponsor of the bill, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, survived a battle with cancer and has criticized the new guidelines.
"I disagree with the recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force," Klobuchar said in a statement. "We know that mammograms save lives and I agree with the American Cancer Society that these life saving benefits outweigh potential harms. As a lead sponsor of the EARLY Act, a bill that includes funding research on younger women with cancer, I believe screening and prevention are an essential part of our fight against breast cancer."
The issue of breast cancer detection in young women has become quite controversial in recent years, and legitimate organizations are on both sides of the table, as we wrote about this summer.
