Mammography Wars : Analyzing Attention in Cultural and Medical Disputes

Mammography is a routine health screening performed forty million times each year in the United States, yet it remains one of the most deeply contested topics in medicine, with national health care organizations supporting conflicting guidelines. In __Mammography Wars__, sociologist Asia Friedman examines cultural and medical disagreements over mammography. At issue is whether to screen women under age fifty, which is rooted in deeper questions about early detection and the assumed linear and progressive development of breast cancer. Based on interviews with doctors and scientists, interviews with women ages 40 to 50, and newspaper coverage of mammography, Friedman uses the sociology of attention to map the cognitive structure of the “mammography wars,” offering insights into the entrenched nature of debates over mammography that often get missed when applying a medical lens. Friedman’s analysis also suggests the sociology of attention’s unique potential for analyzing cultural conflicts beyond mammography, and even beyond medicine. Contents List of Illustrations Introduction: The Mammography Wars Chapter 1 Skepticism and Interventionism as Attentional Types Chapter 2 Attentional Diversity: The Cognitive Structure of Patients’ Narratives of Mammography Chapter 3 Attentional Battles over Mammography Chapter 4 Attentional Weight: Relevance, Risk, and Expertise in Mammography Chapter 5 Mammography and Time Conclusion: Attentional Flexibility Appendix: Methodological Note Acknowledgments Notes References Index About the Author