Mammography screening: weighing the pros and cons for women’s health

Explains the current issues with mammography scrrening and summarizes the evidence about it. Discusses the recent controversies about the guideline on screening for breast cancer for average-risk women (aged 40 to 79) that was released in late 2011 by The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. This guideline updated screening recommendations made by the Task Force’s predecessor, the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination, in 2001. The focus of the guideline is on mammography screening, but the guideline authors also recommended against clinical breast examination (by physicians) and breast self-examination by patients.