Meghan Youker

OMAHA (KPTM) — A government backed panel sparks a flurry of controversy.  Its new recommendations for breast cancer screenings turn the table on years of advice from doctors and advocacy groups.

A new report from the U.S. Preventative Task Force says women don't need routine mammograms in their forties, but instead should start getting them every two years when they turn fifty.  The previous recommendation was to get a mammogram annually, starting at age forty.

Monday the group of doctors and scientists concluded potential harm from those yearly mammograms could outweigh the benefits.  "By harms I mean there were women that would undergo false positive exams, unnecessary biopsies and even be treated for cancers that would never have harmed them," said Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt.

The new recommendations do not apply to women at high risk for breast cancer.

The report advises women in their forties talk to their doctor about the risks and benefits of mammograms.  It also found no evidence self–breast exams reduce death rates and discourages teaching women how to examine themselves.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, affecting one in every eight.  With more and more younger women being diagnosed, the new report is prompting widespread confusion and heated debate over early detection.

The new recommendations put the government at odds with groups from the American Cancer Society to the American Society of Breast Surgeons.  They also face strong opposition from women who've had breast cancer and lived to tell their story.

Kathy Bennett found the lump herself.  "I was 44, I have absolutely no history, no family history whatsoever," she said.

She went through weeks of chemo and radiation for breast cancer and now calls herself a survivor.  "I really don't understand why they would come out with those different guidelines, what's the point of that, why, why now," Bennett said.

The new government recommendations are also drawing criticism from her doctor at the Nebraska Medical Center.  "I thought oh my God, what a problem this is going to cause," said Surgical Oncologist Jim Edney.

Edney is worried the report will prompt confusion among women and primary care doctors.  "It is clearly different than what we've been doing and a matter of fact, what the same group recommended seven years ago," he said.

Dr. Edney believes the task force took the wrong approach when it looked at the math of mammograms.  "It's not that mammograms don't save lives, what they're saying is, mammograms don't save enough lives," he said. "We know that size really does matter as it relates to breast cancer and making it more curable."

It's a position echoed by the American Cancer Society in standing behind it's recommendation for annual mammograms starting at age 40.  "Bottom line we know mammograms save lives and that's what the bottom line should be about.  Not dollars but lives," said Joy King.

As for Kathy, she's urging other women to stick with regular mammograms and checkups.  "People that are looking for an excuse can take this and use it.  People that are lackadaisical about it or unsure about it, this could be the out that they're looking for," she said.  "But it shouldn't be.  I'm proof of that."

There are also concerns with insurance, that the new recommendations might prompt companies to drop or tighten up coverage for mammograms.  Dr. Edney says a lot of confusion could have been avoided with more thought and discussion before the report was released.

Dr. Edney also says it's true that if done improperly, there's not much benefit to self-breast exams, but adds he sees several women each week who found their own breast cancer and believes women should keep doing them.