Last week the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released an update of its 2002 recommendation statement on screening for breast cancer in the general population. That update touched off a firestorm of debate on the topic. In an attempt to provide a range of perspectives on the issue, the Kenosha News has compiled reaction from a variety of sources — from government officials to local doctors. Here’s what they had to say:

“There is no question that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations have caused a great deal of confusion and worry among women and their families across this country. I want to address that confusion head on. The U.S. Preventive Task Force is an outside independent panel of doctors and scientists who make recommendations. They do not set federal policy and they don’t determine what services are covered by the federal government.

“There has been debate in this country for years about the age at which routine screening mammograms should begin, and how often they should be given. The Task Force has presented some new evidence for consideration but our policies remain unchanged. Indeed, I would be very surprised if any private insurance company changed its mammography coverage decisions as a result of this action.

“What is clear is that there is a great need for more evidence, more research and more scientific innovation to help women prevent, detect, and fight breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

“My message to women is simple. Mammograms have always been an important life-saving tool in the fight against breast cancer and they still are today. Keep doing what you have been doing for years — talk to your doctor about your individual history, ask questions, and make the decision that is right for you.”

— Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

“No one is saying that women should not be screened in their 40s. We’re saying there needs to be a discussion between women and their doctors.”

— Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

“Our data is from studies involving thousands and thousands of women. Those data were not available in 2002. We have much more information about potential harms of breast cancer screening.”

— Dr. David Grossman, member of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (from a story by Delthia Ricks, Newsday)

“I have not changed my guidelines, and remain with established American Cancer Society and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ recommendations.”

— Dr. Michael Tiffany, Kenosha obstetrician and gynecologist

“I still strongly recommend routine mammogram to screen for early breast cancer as (to) American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ recent statement. Until I see better clinical evidence that early mammogram is more harmful than saving lives, I probably will continue to recommend early mammogram for breast cancer screening.”

— Dr. Joon Park, Kenosha obstetrician and gynecologist

“We’re not happy with these changes. We’re sticking with American College of OB/GYN recommendations. The problem is going to be that the insurance companies will likely not (continue with the previous recommendation). The whole issue that they bring up is that there are many unnecessary biopsies. The problem is you only know a biopsy is unnecessary when you get a negative result ... How many lives do you have to save to make it cost effective?”

— Dr. Barb Robinson, Kenosha obstetrician and gynecologist

“I continue to individualize a patient’s risk from age 40 to 49 and screen accordingly. There is a breast cancer risk assessment tool on the cancer.gov Web site, and I just plug in the data and it gives me a number, and once you are above a certain threshold, I say you should be screened. I’m in favor of individualized risk screening.”

— Dr. Jeffrey Trimark, Kenosha internist

“The American Cancer Society continues to recommend annual screening using mammography and clinical breast examination for all women beginning at age 40. The test is far from perfect, but it’s the best way we have to find tumors early. How many lives are enough to make routine screening worth it? How many mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, daughters and friends are we willing to lose to breast cancer while the debate goes on about the limitations of mammography? Turning back the clock will add up to too many lives lost, and too many women finding their tumors later, when treatment options are limited.

Our medical staff and volunteer experts overwhelmingly believe the benefits of screening women ages 40 to 49 outweigh its limitations. Let’s not behave as though we lack a tool with proven benefits to women’s health.”

— Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society

“For over a decade, National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) has held the position that over-emphasis on the importance of breast cancer screening, despite a lack of strong evidence, has been elevated to such a degree that some even equate screening with prevention.

NBCC hopes that the release of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force revised recommendations will put screening and its limitations into proper perspective.

We hope that policy makers, the public and the health care community will take the time to carefully analyze the basis of the revised recommendations. Women have been given different messages for years, but unfortunately those messages were not based on strong evidence. Women deserve the truth even when it is complicated. They can accept it.

Everyone deserves to know the facts and has the right to make informed decisions regarding their health care. NBCC encourages women to make informed decisions regarding screening based on the actual evidence.”

— Fran Visco, president of National Breast Cancer Coalition

“This makes no sense to me. I am tired of the debate over this. There is plenty of evidence that mammography reduces breast cancer mortality.”

— Dr. Etta Pisano, a mammography researcher at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who published an influential national study in 2005 that prompted wider use of newer, digital mammography technology (from a story by Sarah Avery, McClatchy Newspapers)

“It’s arrogant and irresponsible. It’s wrong to keep changing recommendations and give conflicting messages to women.”

— Dr. Robert Schmidt, a professor of radiology at the University of Chicago Medical Center (from a story by Judith Graham, Chicago Tribune)