Current guidelines say women diagnosed with Stage 1 or Stage 2 breast cancer do not need follow-up imaging tests, but they are getting them anyway, according to a new study.

Current guidelines say women diagnosed with Stage 1 or Stage 2 breast cancer do not need follow-up imaging tests, but they are getting them anyway, according to a new study.
Photo Credit: CBC

Reduce imaging tests for early breast cancer: study

Women with early stage breast cancer are being sent for too many unneeded imaging tests, clogging the health-care system and wasting millions of dollars, according to a new study.  MRIs and CT scans are not necessary because the risk that their cancer has spread is very low.

Rather than being helpful, the extra tests can expose women to potentially harmful radiation and can delay the start of treatment. The study was done in the province of Ontario and was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

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