Effect of screening mammography on breast cancer Research Paper

Effect of screening mammography on breast cancer - Research Paper Example This listing of alternative treatments, under the current legal system, must even include the risks and benefits of non-treatment (Marshall, 2005). Despite being clinical screenings, including annual screening mammography and other treatments, being named the most effective method for reducing mortality and detecting early cancers by the United States Preventative Services Task Force (Greco et al., 2009), there is great difficulty in determining the actual efficacy of the technique on mortality rates (Spencer et al., 2004). The difficulty lies in separating the effect of screening on the actual mortality rates of detected cancers versus its effect on the time of detection, what researchers refer to as the lead-time bias (Spencer et al., 2004). Also, any longitudinal study faces the issue that as medical science improves, long-term survival rates for cancer patients improves as well. The sample becomes contaminated as the researchers cannot separate survival due to better screening or due to better treatment (Marshall, 2005). ... d screening mammography is generally done routinely only for women, a perception of its effectiveness should be examined under Madeleine Leininger's theory of transcultural nursing. Women in and of themselves could be considered a cultural group, and they are also subject to high levels of pressures on their behavior due to their cultural environment. Cultural care requires making allowances for the age, ethnic background, and other personal background characteristics of a patient (Hammerschmidt, Zagonel, and Lenardt, 2007). Breast cancer screening effectiveness must be looked at through the eyes of the women in different cultures, generations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and income brackets (Shyyan et al., 2006; Wujcik et al., 2009), as the usage of screening treatments by all of these women is integral to the success of any study. Research Methodology The determination of effectiveness requires quantitative analysis of numerical data. The literature research method should theref ore focus on finding such statistics, but also ensuring that such statistics are comparable. Data from different age groups, for example, should not be analyzed together without allowances for that variance. CINAHL was searched for articles that contained the phrases â€Å"breast cancer†, â€Å"screening mammography†, and â€Å"breast cancer mortality†. The search was limited to articles since 2001. Additionally, Google Scholar was used to locate articles and information about the Leininger theory of cultural care. All sources used are from peer-reviewed medical and nursing journals to ensure the quality of the research. Review of Literature Two major types of studies exist about screening mammography: attempts to determine, empirically, the success of screening techniques, and the general