In November 2009, the U.S.

Preventive Services Task Force

(USPSTF) issued a new recommendation

statement on the subject

of Screening for Breast Cancer.

It received an inordinate amount of

media attention and continues to be

the subject of ongoing discussion

and reaction. In their published

report, which appears in the

November 2009 edition of the

Annals of Internal Medicine, they

list their summary of recommendations

and the rationale behind each

of them. Additionally, they included a

disclaimer which states that their

recommendations are INDEPENDENT

of the U.S government and do not

reflect the policies of any government

health agency or department.

This disclaimer is important to

keep in mind especially since these

recommendations were promulgated

in the midst of the Congressional

health care reform debate.