This Thursday, the House Health and Government Operations Committee will hold a hearing on House Bill 182 sponsored by Delegate Donna Stifler (R-District 35A).
The legislation would freeze in place the existing American Cancer Society guidelines for mammograms which recommend regular annual screenings for women age 40 and up. Last year the United States Preventive Services Task Force proposed changing the existing guidelines to annual mammograms only for women age 50 and up. Many members of the medical community have rejected these recommendations.
Knowing that early detection is key to surviving breast cancer and given the fact that I know someone in their early thirties who is fighting it right now, I gladly cosponsored this legislation. The bill has broad bi-partisan support and will hopefully pass this legislative session.
For more information on breast cancer and breast cancer screening, visit www.breastcancer.org.
