[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H1202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NCI ELIMINATES MAMMOGRAPHY GUIDELINES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Towns] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, in 1989, the National Cancer Institute [NCI] 
recommended that women age 40 to 49 undergo biennial mammography 
screening and an annual mammography at age 50. Six years later, without 
the consensus of any medical or cancer organizations and against the 
recommendation of its own national advisory board, NCI eliminated its 
mammography guidelines for women in the 40 to 49 age group.
  Last Congress, Mr. Speaker, the Subcommittee on Human Resources and 
Intergovernmental Relations, which I formerly chaired, found that the 
elimination of these guidelines was without scientific foundation. In 
fact, the subcommittee issued a report entitled ``Misused Science: The 
National Cancer Institute's Elimination of Mammography Guidelines for 
Women in Their Forties.'' In that report, we recommend that ``NCI 
further research on American women, in the 40 to 49 age group, to 
determine the importance of mammography screening.
  Fortunately, others have produced new research to demonstrate that 
both early detection and screening in younger women can be beneficial 
in combating this disease. Of the 180,000 cases of breast cancer that 
are diagnosed each year at least two-thirds, if detected early enough, 
give women the choice of a breast-conserving procedure--a lumpectomy, 
rather than a mastectomy. Moreover, a recent CBS investigative report 
by Michele Gillen has highlighted the importance of mammography 
screening in the early detection of breast cancer and the inability of 
the NCI to explain its abrupt changes to the guidelines in 1993.
  Even more troubling is the fact that the Gillen investigation has 
uncovered that NCI now wants to back away from recommending any 
mammographies for women age 50 and over.
  This kind of callous attitude could lead to insurance companies 
refusing to cover the cost of mammography screenings. Over 40,000 women 
will die from this disease in 1996. If you can recommend an appropriate 
daily allowance for vegetables in the American diet, you should be able 
to recommend life-saving screenings for American women.
  I say to NCI tonight don't eliminate the only tool American women 
have to protect themselves against breast cancer. Retain the original 
1989 guidelines for mammography screenings and self-breast exams.

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