Author: Handel Reynolds ISBN : Product Detai New from Format: PDFIn 2009, an influential panel of medical experts ignited a controversy when they recommended that most women should not begin routine mammograms to screen for breast cancer until the age of fifty, reversing guidelines they had issued just seven years before when they recommended forty as the optimal age to start getting mammograms. While some praised the new recommendation as sensible given the smaller benefit women under fifty derive from mammography, many women's groups, health care advocates, and individual women saw the guidelines as privileging financial considerations over women's health and a setback to decades-long efforts to reduce the mortality rate of breast cancer.
In The Big Squeeze, Dr. Handel Reynolds, a practicing radiologist, notes that this episode was only the most recent controversy in the turbulent history of mammography since its introduction in the early 1970s. In a book written for the millions of women who face the decision about whether to get a mammogram, health professionals interested in cancer screening, and public health policymakers, Reynolds shows how pivotal decisions made during mammography's initial launch made it all but inevitable that the test would be contentious. He describes how, at several key points in its history, the emphasis on mammography screening as a fundamental aspect of women's preventive health care coincided with social and political developments, from the women's movement in the early 1970s to breast cancer activism in the 1980s and '90s.
At the same time, aggressive promotion of mammography made the screening tool the cornerstone of a huge new industry. Taking a balanced approach to this much-disputed issue, Reynolds addresses both the benefits and risks of mammography, charting debates, for example, that have weighed the early detection of aggressively malignant tumors against unnecessary treatments resulting from the identification of slow-growing and non-life-threatening cancers. The Big Squeeze, ultimately, helps to evaluate the ongoing public health controversies surrounding mammography and provides a clear understanding of how mammography achieved its current primacy in cancer screening.
Direct download links available for PRETITLE The Big Squeeze: A Social and Political History of the Controversial Mammogram POSTTITLE- File Size: 313 KB
- Print Length: 128 pages
- Publisher: Cornell University Press; 1 edition (July 26, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B008L42V7C
- Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,677 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Allied Health Professions > Radiologic & Ultrasound Technology
- #39 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Administration & Policy > Health Policy
- #74 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Special Topics > History
- #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Allied Health Professions > Radiologic & Ultrasound Technology
- #39 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Administration & Policy > Health Policy
- #74 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Special Topics > History
The Big Squeeze: A Social and Political History of the Controversial Mammogram PDF
The Big Squeeze is a rather short, concise summary of the development of mammography as a screening test for breast cancer and the politics surrounding it. To me the authour stretches a bit in trying to draw parallels with the AIDs epidemic, but I found the history of the times interesting.By JDS
The book is well referenced. Since this is an area of professional interest to me I did go directly to a number of the reference articles cited and found that the author had quoted the original articles accurately and fairly evenhandedly to make his points.
Controversy surrounding this topic does exist but it is in my opinion sometimes slightly overblown in order to make the book more dramatic. I understand the need to hold the reader's interest, especially readers not well versed in the topic. My criticisms are minor however as I did find the book to be accurate and entertaining and highly informative.
Before writing my own review of Dr. Handel Reynolds' book, I paused to read the first two reviews. I found it amusing that one gave the book 5 stars and the other gave it 1 star. It is clear to me that the 1 star rating was given by someone who could not have read this book.By Luds
Dr. Reynolds obviously went to great lengths to research the material he used in his book. As a Registered Nurse and a part of the medical community, I quickly recognized that the historical and political backdrop as to how screening mammography gained its' ascendancy was not a part of my previous knowledge base. The information provided was that done by a researcher and while mind boggling, it was informative.
As I continued to read I was able to peer into the heart and mind of Dr. Reynolds. I saw where-in his interest lie. His desire is to inform women ages 40-49 of the pros and cons, risks and benefits and the "real deal" of doing a screening mammogram.
I fall in that age range. I bought into the politics when I was told at 35 that I was at the age to get a baseline. At 40, I was again duped into believing that I had to have it yearly thereafter.
Amazingly, Dr. Reynolds, being affiliated with the American College of Radiology and practicing as a breast radiologist, must have taken a giant leap of faith to write this insightful book. In some areas he actually wrote scathingly about the organization to which he is a part of. I applaud him for being willing to buck the system and force it to become transparent with the public it is designed to serve.
If he reads this review, I would personally like to say, thank you Dr. Reynolds. Doctors are supposed to inform their patients. It is up to the patients to do what is best for themselves after being informed.I consider myself completely informed, thanks to you.
This is a must read! *****
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