Bill would let women keep
original
mammogram copy
By Heather Mangold
City
Editor
An Indiana lawmaker is proposing a bill that would
allow women to obtain an original copy of her mammogram.
Ruth Ann Hammond knew that mammograms do not copy
well and she wanted to obtain the original. She went to her healthcare
provider to request her mammogram before moving out of state. The facility
she requested her original mammogram from refused to release it because
state law only required a copy to be released.
"There was confusion on the part of some of the
folks across the state," said Rep. Sue Scholer, R-26th, "They didn't
understand that federal law superceded state law."
Rep. Jim Aderholt, R-86th, proposed a bill before
the general assembly that would stop this confusion.
The bill requires that healthcare providers maintain
a patient's original mammogram films and reports for a maximum of 10
years. The bill also required that a provider, upon request, provide
original mammogram films and copies of reports concerning the mammogram
films of a patient.
If this bill were passed, the state department
of health would be required to promptly notify providers of changes
in federal regulations regarding the x-ray film.
Rep. Tim Brown, R-41st, is a co-author of the bill
and is a member of the public health committee that heard the bill Feb.
6. Brown said, "If a woman wants her original x-rays, she can now under
federal law get those."
A spokesperson from St. Elizabeth's Medical Center
in Lafayette said that the center already distributes original mammogram
x-rays and will therefore not be changing policy after the bill passes.
The bill is expected to change policy regarding
breast cancer, a common disease among women.
According to the American Cancer Society, a woman's
risk for breast cancer increases with age. Women over 50 are the majority
at risk for the disease. Women younger than 30 only account for 0.3
percent of breast cancer cases.
For those college-aged women under thirty, several
lifestyle risk factors put them at an increased risk for acquiring the
disease.
Oral contraceptive use might play a role in breast
cancer risk, according to the society. When considering using oral contraceptives,
women should discuss their other risk factors for breast cancer with
their health care team.
Other lifestyle risks are associated with the disease
as well.
The use of alcohol is clearly linked to increased
risk of developing breast cancer. Compared to women who do not consume
alcohol, women who have one drink per day have a small increase in risk.
Women who have two to five drinks per day have about 1.5 times the risk
of women who do not drink alcohol.
As well as alcohol consumption, physical inactivity
and high fat diets play a role in the risk increase for breast cancer.
Having more fat tissue can increase a woman's estrogen
levels, and increase her likelihood of developing breast cancer, according
to the society.
Research involving exercise and cancer is a new
area of research.
According to the society, strenuous exercise in
youth might provide life-long protection against breast cancer.
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