Cancer

Younger Breast Cancer Screening Targets Rising Rates - 10/08/2025

TMA holds to recommendations that women begin routine annual mammograms at age 40. Per the American Cancer Society, breast cancer in women younger than age 50 is rising at double the rate of older women. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

TMA Supports Guidelines Recommending Younger Breast Cancer Screening Age - 09/30/2025

Women should begin routine annual mammography screenings at age 40, according to American College of Radiology and Society of Breast Imaging guidelines supported by the Texas Medical Association.

TMA Spotlights ACS Study to Improve Cancer Data for Black Women - 10/25/2024

Serving its goal of increasing access to cancer care, the Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Cancer is amplifying recruitment efforts for a new study, calling on Texas physicians to generate awareness to boost study enrollment and promote health equity. Read more.

Private Insurers Must Cover Surveillance Colonoscopies, TMA Urges Feds - 01/03/2024

To uphold the established standard of care for colorectal cancer screening, commercial insurers regulated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) must cover follow-up surveillance colonoscopies that take place after the removal of precancerous polyps or lesions in initial screening tests.

The Power of One Voice: Elisabeth Potter, MD's Advocacy Helped Upend CMS' Plan to End Certain Breast Surgery Coverage - 11/01/2023

Elisabeth Potter, MD’s spirited advocacy helped upend CMS’ plan to eliminate coverage for a preferred breast reconstruction surgery.

Medicare Expands Coverage for Colorectal Cancer Screening - 02/24/2023

Medicare patients soon will benefit from expanded coverage of colorectal cancer screening tests, following advocacy by the Texas Medical Association and others in organized medicine.

Talk to Patients About: Human Papillomavirus Vaccine - 07/29/2022

The vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most effective life-saving measures in medicine, and yet it has long suffered from poor public perception.

Medicare Lowers Thresholds to Cover Lung Cancer Screening - 04/05/2022

Medicare has announced expanded coverage for lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography, the only recommended screening test for the disease.

Commentary: I'm a Better Physician 'Thanks' to Cancer - 10/28/2021

The last thing a nonsmoking asymptomatic female physician expects during her usual hourly aerobic exercise is a phone call from her internist about a “spiculated lung nodule.” There was no need for the rest of the radiologist’s sentence: “suspicious for malignancy.”

Colorectal Cancer Screening More Accessible Thanks to State, National Initiatives - 06/08/2021

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in Texas, but it’s also highly preventable through screening. A pair of recent measures – one each at the state and national levels – are designed to boost access to those screenings.