European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 18, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A your health study confirms value of mammograms 8yjanee.bp.ody new York times after years of debate in the United Stales Over the value of mammograms for women under 50 Yea a old an analysis has shown that annual screening Tor breast cancer using mammography and physical examination can significantly reduce breast cancer deaths among women in Thair 4qs. The analysis prepared by researchers at the National cancer Institute and published in the Institute s journal indicates that annual breast a rays can have a Lite saving Benefit Lor women under 50 As Greal As that already demonstrated for women Over 50. The analysis was based on a Long term scientifically designed study of bras cancer screening conducted in the 1960s among 31,000 women who were members of the health insurance plan of greater mow York. Previous analyses from this study showed unequivocally that the screening procedures reduced deaths from breast cancer by about 30 percent among women Over 50 however the value to younger women who Are much less Likely to gel breast cancer was statistically Uncertain. Tho new report showing a statistically significant Benalil Lor younger women is based on a longer follow up period and a More sensitive analytical technique than had been used in the past. The 742 women Lound to have cancer had been followed for at Leas 18 years alter the first breast examinations. An improve Omen in survival showed up after nine years. She researchers reported. They also noted that the benefits of screening today should be much Grealer Ihan their study suggests because major improvements in mammography have occurred since inc 1960s the researchers. Or. Kenneth a Chu or. Charles r. Small and or. Robert e. Tarone said hey expected their report would not Settle the controversy Over whether mammograms should be done routinely in women 40 to 49, As is now recommended by the american cancer society the National cancer Institute and the american College of radiology  an a Ray technician adjusts the Mamma Dan ghost equipment to prepare tort patient. Rate of hysterectomies alarms groups in . By g1na Kolata new York times despite repeated warnings against unnecessary hysterectomies and despite medical advances that now enable some a aliens to avoid the surgical removal of their Ute ruses the operation is still being performed in the United Stales a a rate that alarms women s groups and perplexes physicians. The procedure declined in popularity during the 1970s, tailing from a rate of 8.8 operations for every 1.000 american women in 1975, to 7.1 in 1980. But since then the National Rale has hardly changed and i parities persist Between regions. In an Effort to prevent what they assert Are in Dossary hysterectomies some women s groups Are Ashing states of pass Laws mandating that women be told of the Side effects of the operation and o Allar natives. California for instance passed a Law last year saying that women must give Oral and written consent before undergoing a Hysterectomy the National women s health network is trying to get similar Laws passed in other Stales. At the same Lime the american College of obstetricians and gynaecologists Ormed a Lask Force this year to study the appropriate medical reasons for this surgery and whether Loo Many hysterectomies Are performed the operation remains highly popular. By the time Page 16 the stars and stripes they reach 60, More than a third of american women have had a Hysterectomy said or Vicki Georges Hufnagel of the Institute Lor reproductive health in los Angeles who helped Analyse government data from 1965 through 19b4. Hysterectomies Are typically performed on women who suffer from benign tutors of the uterus displacement of Pelvic organs. Including the uterus endometriosis in which uterine tissue migrates out of the uterus and uterine or cervical cancer. But hysterectomies May no be necessary to remove certain benign tutors thai cause no symptoms or to relieve painful menstrual bleeding or Olner discomfort said or. George w. Morley an obstetrician at the University of Michigan medical Center in Ann Arbor and chairman of the task Force of the american College of obstetricians end gynaecologists. In addition women who have tutors thai cause bleeding pain or abdominal swelling but who want to keep their ule ruses Are not always told that an alternative less extensive operation is available the Hysterectomy like any surgical procedure carries some risk. About 2 in every 1,000 women who have the procedure die while still in the Hospital said Nora w. Motley founder and president of an organization known As hers Lor Hysterectomy education resources and services. The group is based in Bala Cynwyd a. Hospital data Analysed by Robert Pokras of the National Center for health statistics in a Yatesville my. Tuesday october 18,19b8 show thai there Wero 655,000 hysterectomies performed last year in the United states. Hysterectomies remain the second most common major operation for american women second to the delivery of infants by caesarean Section. But there Are inexplicable regional variations in Hysterectomy Rales. The operation is performed on fewer than five out of 1,000 women per year in the Northeast but on More Ihan 8 per 1,000 in the South. Sybil Shainwald. A new York lawyer and chairman of the commit Lea on health Law and regulation at the National women s health network said that the Large regional variation in Hysterectomy Rales is a reason she is certain the operation is often performed unnecessarily. Clearly our internal organs Are not different to different parts of the country she said. She added thai Many women have not been told that they could be treated without undergoing a Hysterectomy and that some women did not even know their uterus was going to be removed until they awoke after Iris operation. The task Force of the american College of obstetricians and gynaecologists is studying whether new techniques have made some  unnecessary. For example Morley said doctors used to treat abnormal cell growth anti Early cancerous lesions of the cervix the opening to the uterus with a Hysterectomy but in most cases these women can be treated equally Well with a lesser torm of surgery by cutting or freezing Only the Cert ours tissue