Yesterday afternoon, when I heard a news report that an independent government panel has suggested that breast cancer screening guidelines should be dramatically altered I was dumbfounded. But according to The Washington Post Diana B. Pettiti, vice chairman of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and her colleagues are standing by their findings—which will be published today in The Annals of Internal Medicine. This task force believes that women should no longer have annual mammograms starting at age 40. Instead they should wait a full decade and start at 50 then do them every other year. Sounds to me like insurance lobbyists influenced these findings—that’s the only way I can explain this crazy suggestion (which the American Cancer Society, The American College of Radiology and other oppose). Now most of you know that when it comes to medical research, findings and recommendations change as often as the weather. But this dramatic departure seems potentially dangerous—especially to sisters. Read the full story

Okay people, if you never were a fan of sitting out in the sun here’s some news that may make you reconsider. It seems that many of us have a lack of Vitamin D. While that in itself may not seem like a big deal that deficiency may lead to variety of things from preterm births to breast cancer, colon cancer (and prostate cancer in men). Do I have your attention now? Read the full story

File this under the sad but true category. A recent study conducted by The University of Michigan reveals that minority women with breast cancer know far less about their treatment options and survival rates than white woman. That, of course, is not the reason we are more likely to die from the disease. But seriously, we’re not helping ourselves here. Read the full story

Breast cancer has been in the news a lot in the last couple of weeks. First, there was the New York Times article on how the shift to digital mammograms is resulting in a greater number of follow-ups. However, the upshot was that this new technology is worth all the extra trouble. After reading it I wondered, do black women know that they should be getting digital mammograms? If not, who is going to tell them? A lot of insurance companies operate in the don’t ask, don’t tell mode so sisters may not know that they should be quizzing their doctor or facility about what type of mammograms they offer before they make an appointment. Read the full story