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May 22, 2007
Wasting more money
President Bush as agreed to extend an early detection program for breast and cervical cancer. We looked at the relative uselessness of Pap smears. Mammograms are subject to the same analysis. Now the funding for the NBCCEDP will increase to $275 million by 2012.
About 341,000 women were screened for cervical cancer through the program, and almost 5000 cervical lesions were found. Interpret this information correctly. Ask how many of these women actually had cancer and how many would have regressed to normal. Ask how many needless procedures were done on these histological lesions with no meaningful significance. Ask how many women were harmed by this pogrom.
Actually, one in 1,600 women were found to have cervical cancer to date, (1,800 out of 3 million screened). And 29,000 were found to have breast cancer. That is still only one in a hundred. Which is really odd considering that the odds of getting breast cancer in the US is said to be one in eleven.
I do not want to downplay the devastating nature of both these diseases. But the hubris displayed by this Act is telling.
Social iatrogenesis | By Robert Maddox | 05:12 PM