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Wednesday, October 22, 2003
NATION
THE BATTALION
U.S. mammogram training falls short
Cancer screening
Astudy focusing on breast cancer
screening in two U.S. programs
and one British program
revealed that U.S. doctors did
repeat tests on twice as many
women as did their counterparts,
despite similar cancer rates.
Researchers point to inferior
mammogram training and
greater fear of malpractice suits
in the United Sates.
□ Breast Cancer
Surveillance Consortium (U.S.)
n National Breast and Cervical Cancer
Early Detection Program (U.S.)
■ National Health Service Breast
Screening Program (British)
Mammograms resulting
In further testing
Cancer detected per
1,000 mammograms
6.3
NOTE: Sample group consisted of women
ages 50 to 54 from 1996 through 1999.
SOURCE: Journal of the American AP
Medical Association
By Lindsey Tanner
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — American
doctors do twice as many tests
to find the same number of
breast cancer cases as physi
cians in Britain, reflecting infe
rior mammogram training and
greater fear of malpractice suits
in this country, researchers say.
The study found that U.S. radi
ologists declare many more mam
mogram results uncertain or sus
picious, compared with their
British counterparts, and that as a
result, American women with and
without cancer undergo at least
double the number of follow-up
tests, such as biopsies.
The higher U.S. “recall” rate
would make sense if the overall
American cancer detection rate
were higher. But the study found
that cancer was detected in just
under six cases per 1,000 mam
mograms in the United States
and just over six per 1,000 in
Britain, nearly identical rates.
The researchers said the study
illustrates the need for better
mammogram training and over
sight to improve U.S. radiologists’
ability to interpret the results.
“Very clear and specific stan
dards and targets need to be set for
interpretation of mammography,”
said lead author Dr. Rebecca
Smith-Bindman of the University
of California at San Francisco.
“Radiologists who perform out
side acceptable ranges need to be
told, ‘That’s not acceptable’ and
given an opportunity to learn how
to better perform.”
The study appears in
Wednesday’s Journal of the
American Medical Association.
Dr. David Dershaw, presi
dent of the Society of Breast
Imaging and director of breast
imaging at Memorial Sloan-
Kettering Cancer Center in
New York, said the study does
not reflect all U.S. breast can
cer screening programs.
He criticized the researchers
for downplaying an important
difference between U.S. and
British cancer detection rates:
More cases of early, curable
breast cancer are detected in the
United States.
He acknowledged that
British doctors who do mammo
grams generally are more spe
cialized than those in the United
States, some of whom focus on
other areas of radiology.
In the United Kingdom,
most mammogram specialists
read more than 7,000 such
tests yearly, compared with
about 1,000 among U.S. doc
tors who do mammograms,
Smith-Bindman said.
Also, fear of malpractice
suits over undetected cancer is
much greater in the United
States, prompting doctors to go
overboard sometimes in requir
ing additional tests, Smith-
Bindman said.
Britain also has a quality
control program focusing on
rates of cancer detection and
recall rates. Doctors who fall
below a minimum standard are
subject to increased scrutiny.
Britain has organized pro
fessional development training
for mammogram specialists,
detailing “the kinds of things
you should call back for” more
testing and “the kinds of
things you shouldn’t,” Smith-
Bindman said.
More than 30 million mam
mograms are done each year in
the United States.
Whiskey flows at Mount Vernon
for first time in more than 200 years
By Nancy Zuckerbrod
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOUNT VERNON, Va. — George
Washington’s estate on the Potomac River
hasn’t been home to a working distillery for
about two centuries, but that changed
Tuesday as whiskey makers toiled on the
Founding Father's popular recipe.
“For me, it’s like standing on hallowed
pund,” Jim Beam master distiller Jerry
Dalton said as he took a break from recreat-
inMte 18th century recipe to survey the
scene, three miles from the main house
where Washington lived from 1754 until he
died in 1799.
Washington started his whiskey business
in 1797, after leaving politics. It was a thriv
ing enterprise that yielded 11,000 gallons of
whiskey and a profit of $7,500 — or about
$105,000 in today’s dollars — in one year.
Today’s top whiskey makers spent
hours Tuesday mixing, heating and cool
ing Washington's “mash bill,” or recipe,
of rye, corn and malted barley. They then
ran their creation through a copper still
atop an open fire.
Dalton looked relieved after sipping the
creation, which he called spicy and aromatic.
“I had concerns about it. I mean this is so
primitive,” Dalton said eyeing the outdoor
flame and ancient-looking pots. “I thought
it would be a little murky, but that’s not the
case at all.”
They’re planning to age the whiskey in
two barrels for a couple years, and when
they think it’s ready, they will auction off an
estimated 96 bottles of it to benefit the
Mount Vernon estate.
The distillers did hit a couple of snags
with their brew.
A special yeast that was shipped to Virginia
from the Woodford Reserve distillery in cen
tral Kentucky died en route, so the whiskey
makers had to pick up ordinary yeast at a sub
urban Washington grocery store.
Also, the team apparently used too much
heat during a test and produced a sample
that “tasted like burnt toast, burnt rye bread
toast,” said Joseph Dangler, who makes
Virginia Gentleman bourbon.
Just adjacent to the outdoor area where
the distillers recreated Washington’s
whiskey are the rocks and bricks that make
up the foundation of the first president’s dis
tillery. The Distilled Spirits Council, the
industry’s trade group, is spending more
than $1 million to excavate the site and
rebuild the distillery. The project is expected
to be completed in two years.
Mount Vernon Associate Director Dennis
Pogue said officials would not distill liquor
at the site but would explain to visitors how
Washington did it back in the late 1700s.
As school children ran around on a class
trip, Pogue talked about the careful “balanc
ing act” of explaining Washington’s life to
visitors without promoting alcohol.
The association has been helpful to the
industry, said Phil Lynch, vice president of
Louisville, Ky.-based Brown-Forman, which
makes top whiskey seller Jack Daniels.
“George Washington, he was the one that
won the Revolutionary War. He was the first
president,” Lynch said. “It helps put into
perspective that there’s nothing wrong with
the distilling process.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
Easy-Bake mixes recalled
for unlabeled ingredients
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some dessert
mixes sold as refills for Easy-Bake ovens
are being recalled because they contain
ingredients that are not listed on the labels
but could cause allergic reactions.
Recalled are Chocolate Brownie and
Chocolate Frosting mixes in certain Easy-
Bake refill sets and the Easy-Bake Rice
Krispies Snack Shoppe.
The company said the mixes contain
milk, wheat and eggs that were not
declared on the label. The recall was
announced in conjunction with the Food
and Drug Administration.
Many Texas cemeteries
receive no regular upkeep
AUSTIN (AP) — Overgrown graves and
garbage are unwelcome but frequent
sights at many of Texas’ historic cemeter
ies, where preservationists warn that the
state’s heritage is at stake.
The Texas Historical Commission is cat
aloguing the tens of thousands of ceme
teries more than 50 years old, considered
a vital first step in preserving them. That
would ensure that resting spots for thou
sands of Texans’ ancestors aren’t lost.
AUSTIN (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. pre
sented a historical collection worth an
estimated $10 million that chronicles more
than 130 years of the company’s history to
The Center for American History at the
University of Texas at Austin on Monday.
The collection, which includes docu
ments from John D. Rockefeller and
Charles Lindbergh, traces the history of
the company, beginning with its origins in
Rockefeller’s storied Standard Oil. Exxon
Mobil also provided $300,000 to catalog
and preserve the collection.
Don Carleton, the center’s director, said
the archives of the nation’s “premier” oil
company will be well integrated in the cen
ter’s already extensive library of the oil
industry’s history.
The Exxon Mobil archive collection
includes historical artifacts and docu
ments dating back to Exxon and Mobil’s
earliest predecessor companies from the
1860s through the creation and operation
of Standard Oil Company.
AT&T reveals improper
accounting in another
weak profit report
NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T overstated profits
by $125 million in 2001 and 2002 because two
employees covered up a bookkeeping error,
the company revealed Tuesday.
AT&T was quick to distinguish the mis
take from the multibillion dollar deceptions
at companies such as WorldCom, saying
an outside counsel found that expenses
were underestimated accidentally.
The employees then hid the error to protect
themselves, Thomas Horton, AT&T’s chief
financial officer, said in a conference call.
“The investigation determined it was not
done for personal gain,” he said.
The employees and their supervisors
were fired. The mistake involved underes
timating fees owed to phone companies
that connect AT&T customer calls.
Exxon Mobil donates
historical collection
to University of Texas
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4^ MSC jljlS Today, October 22
1:30pm “Saxomophones”
Performance by Saxophone
Ensemble @ Sul Ross Plaza
Awareness
m
7pm “Impending Presence” gallery opening
Works by Ron Clark
@ MSC Visual Arts Gallery
7:30pm The Pianist film discussion/performance
F*? @ MSC Forsyth
Tajri
Center Galleries
Brought to you by MSC Film Society, MSC OPAS &c MSC VAC
SUMMER STAFF
Positions
Camn Ozark.
Come to our Texas A&M University
Video Presentations:
Wednesday, October 22nd, Room 225 MSC @ 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 23rd, Room 292B MSC @ 8:30 p.m.
A Christian sports and adventure camp for boys and girls ages 7-17, located in the
heart of the Ouachita Lake and Mountain Region in Arkansas, is now accepting
applications for summer staff positions.
I 55 Camp O/ark Drive (979) 220-5090
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Major Credit Cards Accepted Hours: Monday - Saturday 10 am to 9 pm
Prices Good! 0/20/03 to 10/25/03 In case of printing error, store price prevails
SENIORS.
1/Ve want your portrait for the Aggieland Yearbook.
Graduation portraits for the 2004 Aggieland Yearbook will be taken
Monday, Oct. 13, through Friday Oct. 24, 2003, in Room 027 of the
Memorial Student Center. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, except
Thursday, Oct. 16, which will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is no sitting fee
required to be photographed for the yearbook. To insure being pho
tographed you should make an appointment by calling Thornton Studio
at 1-800-883-9449 or seeing the photographer beginning Monday, Oct.
13. Senior attire: For the yearbook pose, women should wear a favorite
top or dress; men should wear a suit or sports jacket and tie.
Graduating members of the Corps of Cadets should wear their
Midnights. A Texas A&M graduation cap & gown will be provided by
the photographer.
Aggieland 2004
'—Texas A&M University Yearbook *