One upshot of the decades-long fight against cancer is the popular belief that healthy people should regularly examine their bodies or undergo screening because early detection saves lives. This breast cancer story in the New York Times questions the effectiveness of cancer screening. Except for a few types of cancer, routine screening has not been proven to reduce the death toll from cancer for people without specific symptoms or risk factors — like a breast lump or a family history of cancer — and could even lead to harm, many experts on health say.
