BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

A couple days ago I was sitting at the doctor's office getting a series of bloodwork done when I saw this: On Monday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that doctors delay mammography screening for breast cancer until the age of 50. The recommendation goes against the American Cancer Society’s long-held position that women receive their first mammogram by the age of 40 and follow up with yearly mammograms until the age of 74. WT#?? Are these people kidding? Yes, I admit I am over 50. Because of having PCOS since age 9 I have been getting regular mammograms since I was about 35 years ago. Drug therapy for infertility as well as for my PCOS and subsequently my Atypical MS means I always err on the side of caution and my doctors agree. PCOS carries a high rate of cancer later in life. Thank God I dodged that bullet after this May's surgery. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't take care of my body - flawed as it is. I have had a number of friends m...

Before digesting the below, take a couple minutes to read Chaim's great post on "Obamacare" - Here. by Bronwyn's Harbor At the top of PBS’s latest Bill Moyers Journal , Moyers chose clips of the “usual suspects” opposed to Obama’s health care proposal - a Republican legislator shouting “socialism,” Glenn Beck, Michael Steele, and Bill Kristol, who worked to “drive a stake through” the heart of health care reform in 1993 and 2009. The problem with the GOP’s stock opposition language is that it inaccurately describes what’s really wrong with Obama’s plan, which enriches the profit-motivated private sector and strengthens its controls over policies, at the expense of average Americans forced to sign up. The real reason insurance companies brought back “Harry & Louise” ads: Obama’s plan rewards private health insurance companies with expanded enrollments but little reward for the Americans “mandated” (forced) to buy these plans. (See Paul Krugman’s blog post, “ Why m...