Mammography- misunderstood and underutilized.

A mammography screening program for breast cancer carried out in Sacramento by the University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, was canceled because of negative public reaction to sensationalized reports in the lay press on the potential carcinogenic risks of the radiation exposure, along with passivity on the part of the medical community in defending the procedure and the program. Disappointment in this occurrence spurred us to explore physician's knowledge of and attitudes toward breast cancer and mammography. The results confirmed our suspicions that a significant number of physicians lack accurate knowledge of breast cancer and of the extremely high benefit-to-risk ratio of mammography as a means of early detection.