KULR 8's Healthy Living: Local News

Breast Cancer Screening

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By Kyle Midura

Story Updated: Nov 18, 2009

BILLINGS - The government's new recommendation for breast cancer screening has some local doctors scratching their heads.

A Department of Health and Human Services panel said only those older than 50 should get annual mammograms. The American Cancer Society strongly disagrees.

The panel found that for women younger than 50, the negative effects of yearly breast cancer screening outweighed the positives. They said false-positive test results are more likely before age 50 and can give women a false sense of worry or relief.

Doctors at St. Vincent Healthcare said they won't change their policies, and one local breast cancer survivor said reducing screening efforts doesn't make sense.

"Statistically they may say that only a certain percentage would not have been discovered," said breast cancer survivor Alice Golden, "however even if it's 1%, if you are that 1%, it might as well be 100%."

"Sometimes in the younger age groups you're detecting cancers that are more aggressive," said Mitch Gallagher, a radiologist at St. Vincent Healthcare. "So the idea of early detection mean's we're really curing a lot of cases."

Dr. Gallagher said doctors at St. Vincent have treated more than 300 cases of breast cancer since the beginning of 2008. He said 52 of which involved women between the ages of 40 and 49.

Matilda says ...

On Wednesday, Nov 18 at 12:34 PM

Commenter

If you think this is bad, just wait until the government-run healthcare option that some of you support kicks in! If all of us don't mobilize NOW and tell our representatives and the White House that we don't want, won't support, and won't accept any government-run option in healthcare reform, then it will be too late! Once a government-run option is voted in on the Hill, we will see an erosion that will begin immediately of any control we now have over our healthcare and of those we love.

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Health Benefits of Physical Exercise!
Do you want to feel better, have more energy, and live longer?
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  3. Ideal Body Weight: Exercise helps you achieve or maintain a healthy weight by burning calories. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories you burn. By burning more calories than you take in, you reduce body fat, giving you a healthier body composition. Losing body fat also makes you look and feel better, and reduces your risk of obesity. Maintaining a healthy body weight eases pressure on your bones and joints, which can help prevent conditions such as arthritis.
  4. Prevent and manage diabetes: Regular exercise, combined with a healthy diet, is an important way to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes, a condition that affects the way your body uses blood sugar. Exercise also helps insulin to work better and lower your blood sugar. As your muscles contract during exercise, they use sugar for energy. To meet this energy need, sugar is removed from your blood during and after exercise, which lowers your blood sugar level.
  5. Reduce depression, stress and better manage pain: Exercise fights depression by activating natural body chemicals that enable your body to communicate well with one another. Exercise also stimulates the production of endorphins or chemicals that produce feelings of well-being or "natural" pain relief, and helps you relax.
  6. Reduce your risk of certain types of cancer: Regular exercise helps lower the risk of cancers of the colon, prostate, uterine lining, and breast. Scientists believe that exercise may prevent colon cancer by moving digested food quickly through the colon.
  7. Promotes better sleep: Moderate physical exercise done at least three hours before bedtime promotes relaxation and a good night's sleep. A good night's sleep also helps maintain or improve your physical and overall health.