Below are a few recent Letters to the Editor.

RE: “To Screen or Not to Screen” 

The controversies over when to do breast screening mammography boil down to when it is more costly to make mistakes of inclusion or exclusion. There is no mathematical reason for the confusion—it can be shown without doubt that an imperfect screening test for an uncommon condition doesn’t pay off because the rate of false positives pre-dominates, and in this sense, breast cancer is relatively rare in the general female population until about age 50.

Screening of the general population should logically therefore be done after 50 but only more selectively in younger patients where their family history makes it more likely for them to have cancer.

However, the American health system differs from that in most other advanced countries in the prevalence of lawsuits and that is a distorting factor, which may make a few missed positives, especially in younger patients, much more costly than all those false positives which do result from earlier age mass screening.

That, in addition to medical economics, is why logic and math don’t end the controversy.

Harold Lehrer, MD

###

RE: “Unregulated and Unprotected” 

I would like to thank you for the article written by Jenny Lower under Regulatory Watch titled “Unregulated and Unprotected” in the July/August edition.

I have been a member of the Michigan Society of Radiologic Technologists  (MSRT) since 1978. I joined as a student and have been active since. I have served as President twice and am a Life Member of the MSRT. I know the struggles we have gone through over the years to try to get minimum standards in Michigan.

Ms Lower’s article did a great job of getting our message out. Thank you for that.

Every year we get closer and closer to making changes in Michigan and it is articles like this that help us get the word out. Once again thank you and Ms Lower for a job well done.

Joe Prevo, AS, RT (R),(CT) ARRT

####

Let us know what you think about articles in Axis Imaging News. Send your letters to Marianne Matthews, Chief Editor, at [email protected]