PARKERSBURG - Despite the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation that women 40 to 50 do without screening mammography, others see life saving benefits in the practice.

Physicians at Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital and at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at West Virginia University will not recommend women wait until age 50 for their first mammograms.

David McClure, vice president of Operations and Professional Services at CCMH, said the hospital's oncologists have also decided to stay with the current guidelines that 40 is when screenings should begin.

McClure said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, made that recommendation that guidelines in place now should remain in place.

"I think the most important thing is there be good communication between the patient and the primary care doctor or gynecologist to determine when it is best to begin," he said. "It really is an intimate discussion between patient and doctor."

Cancer doctors at WVU say they are advising women not wait until 50 for their first mammograms.

"We encourage women to do breast self exams and have routine mammography screening annually starting at age 40," said Dr. Jane Abraham, medical director of the cancer center. "We agree with many other groups, including the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, that routine screening for woman in their 40s is an important, effective tool for early detection of breast cancer."

Ultimately McClure said it is up to the doctor to decide whether or not to follow the new recommendations and if the patient is comfortable with them.

"That's something that happens on a daily basis in a physician's office," he said. "When it comes to screening it is no different for men with PSA screening."

McClure said there has been literature recommending changes in how often men should have the blood test for prostate specific antigen.

"The physician and the patient need to have a frank discussion about family history and what their concerns are and when to best start screening and how often," he said.

McClure said CCMH's Comprehensive Community Cancer Center does 60 mammograms daily, Monday through Friday, and up to 50 on Saturday.

"Our mammography screening unit is open six days a week and we do an average of 350 screenings a week," he said.

In West Virginia, studies show as many as one-fourth of woman older than 40 have not had a mammogram in the past two years. In several counties death rates from breast cancer are higher than the national average, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The American Cancer Society recommends yearly mammograms beginning at age 40. On Nov. 16, the government task force said most women in their 40s should forgo mammograms and at age 50 and up, they should be done every two years.

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., released a statement regarding the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations, saying they would turn back the clock in the fight against breast cancer and cast a troubling shadow over the prospect of government-run health care.

"This recommendation amounts to a government panel putting a price on the life of our citizens," Capito said. "When we know that early detection saves lives, I'm troubled by the prospect of a government entity now suggesting that it's not worth doing."

Capito is the sponsor of the EARLY Act, legislation with more than 300 bipartisan co-sponsors, to promote early breast cancer detection efforts among younger women.