So Who Really Needs Pap Tests, Anyway?
January 21, 2010 by Dr. Paul Hartlaub
Filed under Featured posts, Screening Recommendations
A 45 year-old woman once came into my clinic for a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer. While no patients that I know actually like having Paps done, for this individual it was truly a traumatic experience. You see, she was cognitively delayed. Her view of the world was more like that of a [...]
Making Sense Out of the New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
November 21, 2009 by Dr. Paul Hartlaub
Filed under Featured posts, Screening Recommendations
In November 2009, an updated recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF) on screening for breast cancer was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The updated recommendation, which was written to help guide health care providers, differs from prior recommendations in several ways, including these:
• Prior recommendation: Routine mammograms every 1-2 years for [...]
Question from a Reader: Is there a less painful breast examination that could be done instead of a mammogram?
November 8, 2009 by Dr. Paul Hartlaub
Filed under Reader Questions, Screening Recommendations
Bottom Line: Although there are more comfortable ways to screen for breast cancer, none have been proven to be as good of a screening test as mammograms when used by themselves.
As a practicing family physician, I have often heard from women that mammography, in which the breasts are compressed in order to x-ray, is uncomfortable. [...]
