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Changes to breast cancer screening guidelines have been big news since the release of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care’s updated guidelines in December. Women aged 50 to 74 are now recommended to undergo screening mammography every two to three years, while women 40 to 49 are advised not to undergo screening and not to examine their breasts, regardless of breast tissue density.

But patients must wade through the recommendations with caution. Here’s why:

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Adoption of the new breast cancer update is projected to result in more than 400 Canadian lives lost each year. Incredibly, these new guidelines were issued without the involvement of an expert in breast diagnosis or treatment. Instead, the panel involved family doctors, nurses, a chiropractor, an occupational therapist and a nephrologist (kidney specialist).

Why? The task force claimed that including an expert in breast cancer diagnosis would bias the guideline development. The task force implied that because radiologists earn a living by diagnosing breast cancer, they place financial gain above the welfare of patients.