Deirdre Imus and Dr. Katz React to Breaking Cancer News

Bringing current events into the conversation as only he can, Imus welcomed his wife Deirdre and his urologic oncologist Dr. Aaron Katz to the show today so they could argue about stuff.

Specifically, he sought their opinions on the recent recommendation of a federal advisory panel that women without unusual cancer risks should not begin regular screening for breast cancer until age 50, instead of 40, and that those mammograms should be every two years until the age of 74, not every year. The panel also suggested doctors stop telling women to perform self breast exams at home.

Deirdre said the initial push for more screening began in 1997 because of public opinion, not necessarily because of scientific findings. When lobbyists and special interests groups disagreed with the conclusions of the National Cancer Institute — that there wasn't adequate science to promote early screenings — they pushed back hard against it.

"Now, there's over-diagnosis," she said. "There are pros and cons."

In some women who are not considered high-risk, for instance, too much screening can actually cause cancers to grow. "False positives lead to biopsies, and unneeded stress there too," Deirdre added. "I don't think you can say every woman is going to agree with this."

Dr. Katz reminded everyone of the efficacy of mammograms in detecting cancer, and that such detection can save lives. Unlike with over-screening for prostate cancer, which in many cases does not affect a man's longevity, a breast cancer diagnosis (or lack thereof) can severely impact a woman's life and lifespan.

"If it's my daughter, I'm going to support screening," Dr. Katz said. "We've all seen women in their forties diagnosed with aggressive cancers ... it's the best test that we have."

He called it "absolutely ridiculous" for women to quit doing self-breast examinations. "Come on!" he said. "She knows what her breast feels like, and should feel her breast everyday."

Imus offered to do it for Deirdre, grossed us all out, and then moved on.

In terms of reducing the anxiety caused by a mammogram or a colonoscopy, Dr. Katz recommended prevention by way of a healthy diet. "That's where we should be putting our resources," he said. "Not trying to take women away from screening each year."

He'd like to see the Obama administration turn its talk of prevention into dollars to educate people about proper eating habits. "Numbers of cancer and the significant death rates will go down," Dr. Katz said. "I'm convinced of it."

-Julie Kanfer