Debbie Wasserman Schultz opens up on her battle with breast cancer

[democracy1st]

Run time: 11:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8WN13IPuQ4   Posted on YouTube: October 30, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: November 09, 2009 By DU Member: democracy1st Views on DU: 333

 
CBS News' Bob Schieffer sat down for an emotional interview with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz on her battle with breast cancer


Rep. Wasserman Schultz Talks About the EARLY Act and Her Battle With Breast Cancer

Rep. Wasserman Schultz appeared on the Situation Room to tell the story of her battle with breast cancer, and to talk about the EARLY Act, a bill that promotes educating young women about the risk factors of breast cancer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw8sAuENp6Y

[Berry Cool]

1. The thing that bothers me here is she's another voice banging the drum of "early detection"

as if "early detection" were a cure for breast cancer or a guarantee that everything's going to be all right. It does give a person more treatment options in many cases, but it's not the be-all and end-all she makes it out to be. Even medical professionals today are divided as to how much good it does women to do their own self-exams. Did you ever notice shower cards telling you how to examine your own breasts aren't so popular anymore? That's why. A lot of women are finding lumps that may not even really need to be treated--the thing is, it's impossible to know which kind they are, and obviously one shouldn't just do nothing about a lump, but should consult a medical professional.

Her emphasis on building awareness amongst younger women is also problematic, because she runs the risk of frightening them into thinking breast cancer is far more common among younger women than it is. Trouble is, when younger women do get it, the more aggressive it's likely to be--so it's a fine line. But if all she does is scare young women into thinking they've got cancer every time they feel a lump, or wanting to get annual mammograms starting at age 20 even though they have no history of the disease, her very good intentions could backfire.

She also says nothing about greater investment into researching the causes or prevention of breast cancer--nothing at all. It's all about "early detection" again. We need better than mammograms and we need better than "awareness" and "early detection."

I doubt she'd be banging the drum for "early detection" if it turned out that she had one of the more aggressive, harder to treat forms of breast cancer.