“I’VE BEEN RETHINKING MY ZEAL FOR BREAST CANCER SCREENING” ANDREW M. KAUNITZ, MD (EDITORIAL, DECEMBER 2009)
Dr. Kaunitz has it wrong. Not only do I encourage breast self-examination (BSE), I instruct patients carefully so that they gain the skill and confidence they need. We may lack level-1 evidence that BSE reduces the mortality rate, but common sense and more than 50 years of clinical practice have convinced me that it would be wrong to discourage such a simple, painless, cost-free procedure.
Herb Kotz, MD
Bethesda, Md