Lead time bias

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

In what way has it changed your outlook?

Have you only read about it and not experienced it first hand? As the 2 things are completely different. I only go by what I or others have experienced first hand. As the written word can be interpreted completely differently by whoever reads it .

Over the years, quite a lot has been researched and written about lead time bias in the context of mammograms because they're such a common screening procedure. The idea is that screening and picking up cancer before it becomes symptomatic doesn't necessarily extend survival times.

Mammograms didn't pick up my cancers ,I found them myself so self check is important has well ,but surely early detection helps survival rates.

hulahoop

Mammograms didn't pick up my cancers ,I found them myself so self check is important has well ,but surely early detection helps survival rates.

A mammogram did pick up my cancer after my GP had refused to refer me when I had symptoms. Treatment was, therefore, delayed by five months.

I had lobular breast cancer, which doesn't form a classic lump, so the GP didn't recognise it, although I could feel something.

Be wary of people who use lead time bias arguments as an excuse to cut down the frequency of mammograms.

Unfortunately, mammograms don't always pick up lobular cancer, so I was quite lucky that the people reading my scan was suspicious about a change from my previous screening. It was then confirmed with an ultrasound-guided biopsy and MRI.

The debate has been going on for years about whether mammograms are good value for money and it's been shown that they are. They do pick up cancers earlier, especially in women who don't self-examine. Unfortunately, particularly in the US, certain groups of women, especially black and poorer women, don't get screened and breast cancer mortality is higher because their cancers are more advanced when they get treated.

hulahoop

Mammograms didn't pick up my cancers ,I found them myself so self check is important has well ,but surely early detection helps survival rates.

People using "lead time bias" arguments claim that it doesn't. They claim that women would die at a certain time anyway, but if the cancer is identified (say) a year earlier than it would have been with symptoms alone, statistics will show that that a woman has lived for an extra year.