Vt. hospital questions breast screening cutback
12:11 p.m.
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Published: November 24, 2009
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Doctors at Vermont's largest hospital are questioning a recommendation from a federal task force that breast cancer screening for women in their 40s be scaled back.
Dr. Sally Herschorn, co-director of the breast imaging unit at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, says roughly a fifth of breast cancer diagnoses in recent years have been in women aged 40 to 49.
She tells the Burlington Free Press 10 women in the past week have canceled mammogram appointments, citing the new recommendations from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force.
Fletcher Allen is siding with the American Cancer Society, which is continuing to recommend annual screenings for women 40 and older.
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