STRATFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Friday is National Mammography Day. Medical professionals and congressional leaders are stressing the importance of mammograms and early detection. The Connecticut State Medical Society and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro joined doctors and advocates in Stratford Friday morning to talk about the importance of awareness.
“If we can get the screening done and early enough we can catch these diseases,” said DeLauro. “Then in fact we will be able to save thousands and thousands of women’s lives.”
Earlier this year the United States Preventive Services Task Force issued recommendations that would make it harder for women in their forties to get annual breast cancer screenings. DeLauro is calling for the Department of Health and Human Services to oppose those recommendations.
Doctors say the best cure for the disease is early detection. They can identify people who are at risk for breast cancer. Not all women get mammograms or regular checkups, however. Breast cancer survivors say it’s important that all women have access to screenings. They’re hoping to educate women, since getting screened for the disease can help save lives.
“If you have dense breast tissue talk about added screening,” said Nancy M. Cappello, Ph.D, a breast cancer survivor. “When you find cancer early it’s certainly not a guarantee that you may not die from the disease, but it certainly helps. Early does matter.”
A quarter of a million women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone; 40,000 of them will die.
