New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law on Friday that requires insurance companies to provide mammogram screenings for both women and men starting at age 35. Survivors such as Christina Applegate, Giuliana Rancic, and Kylie Minogue (who were all diagnosed at age 36), plus the thousands of other women diagnosed before age 40 every year could have benefitted from a bill like this.
The three women above were fortunate in that their diseases were found when they were at treatable stages. Applegate had a family history of breast cancer (she later found out she carried a BRCA mutation) so she was undergoing screening. Rancic discovered her cancer when she was undergoing IVF treatments. Minogue actually was given a clean bill of health by a doctor, and then found a lump herself. But many women are not quite so lucky.
This was a topic Lee examined in depth in her HBO documentary, which was called RX: Early Detection — A Cancer Journey With Sandra Lee. Lee was 48 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, so she was the proper age to be getting regular screening — but three years prior, she wouldn’t have been. The documentary gave an in-depth, and at times extremely graphic, look into Lee’s experience with the disease — from her decision to undergo a double mastectomy with the hope that all of her cancer would be gone for good, to the difficult recovery process after her surgery.
When it comes to screening, the one thing everyone in medicine can agree on is that catching breast cancer early is crucial. It makes a world of difference when it comes to treatment. However, while many do believe that all women in their 40s (or younger) should be getting screened annually, others believe that this will create too many false positives and lead to unnecessary testing in younger women.
In New York, though, the new law was applauded. The legislation is named “Shannon’s Law” after Shannon Saturno — a teacher from Long Island who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28, and passed away at age 31. In the U.S., about 11,000 women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer every year, Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told SurvivorNet in a previous conversation. Dr. Partridge also noted that when younger women are diagnosed, the cancer is more likely to be more aggressive.
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