It's been just a week and a half since a government task force came out with new recommendations for mammograms and self-breast exams.

They suggested women didn't need mammograms until the age of 50 and that they only were needed every two years.

The task force also found and suggested no evidence that self-breast exams save lives.

There's been a large uproar about this topic -- everyone from the medical community, lawmakers, average citizens and even the President of the United States were talking about and debating the subject.

KHQA's Rajah Maples checked in with a local surgeon for the facts about what you should keep in mind when hearing and reading this task force's recommendations.

Dr. Patricia Hirner is a surgeon at the Hannibal Clinic. She operates on and treats breast cancer -- a subject in which she's become very passionate.

Hirner said, "I want women to be educated. I want them to take control, I want them to know that they are responsible for their health care. It's not even so much that I'm responsible as they are. They need to be empowered to take care of themselves. They take care of everyone else all the time, but it's important for them to take care of themselves.

Here are her thoughts on the recent task force's recommendations -- Dr. Hirner said the group was looking more at the economic side of medicine rather than looking at the best medical practice.

"Their opinion was if it takes 1500 women to diagnose one breast cancer, then it's not economically feasible to continue to screen those 1500 who may be found to have abnormalities that are benign but are tested and biopsied, which increased the cost," she said. "So it's a cost issue from the task force. It's not what would be considered medically advisable. Even if it's 1500, if you're the one person who has a cancer, it's worth the screening."

Dr. Hirner says even though scientists and doctors don't have all the information needed about breast cancer, we've come a long way in treating it.

She said, "What we do know is that if we can catch things early. we do know there are certain things that make us more at risk. we do know that an unhealthy lifestyle makes us more at risk, so everything in moderation is what you should do.13:30:08 right now, we can't determine why we have it, but we know when we get it early, we know how to treat it.  Women who didn't live 50 years ago are living today b/c they were caught early and treated."

Dr. Hirner thinks women should continue to follow the American Cancer Society's recommendations of women doing self-breast exams on a monthly basis starting in their 20's and getting a mammogram starting at age 40.

She said, "If we go back to saying don't do mammograms, and don't do self-exams, we're going back to 50 years ago when it wasn't talked about, when we weren't encouraged to do those things. You know, we've come a long way and it's definitely a step backwards to say don't do these things."

Dr. Hirner says it's important to become an expert with your own breasts. That way you'll know what your breasts are supposed to feel like in case of a lump.

Here are just some of the factors that increase your risk of breast cancer according to the American Cancer Society -- a family history of the disease, having dense breast tissue, starting your menstrual cycle at an earlier change, not having children and birth control pills. You can find other risks on the American Cancer Society's Web site, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_breast_cancer_5.asp?rnav=cri.