Lilly Tartikoff’s Profile in Courage

Lilly Tartikoff deserves credit for her courage during and after her husband’s fatal illness and for her efforts in fund-raising (“Master of Ceremonies,” by Carla Hall, Dec. 6). But her public admission that she goes for mammograms, sonograms and aspirations every few months struck me as irresponsible. Few can afford to have such frequent tests simply because they are afraid to feel their own breasts.

Most women who find a lump in their breast do so before the same abnormality would have turned up in a mammogram. Women must be encouraged to engage in monthly breast self-exams as well as annual mammograms.

Phyllis Rosenhaft

Los Angeles

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We all owe Tartikoff a great deal of gratitude. As she does, I regularly have mammograms and, since I have a history of cancer, exams by my OB-GYN and my oncologist. I relied on these (and a sonogram) because I hated doing self-examination. But I was wrong.

Two weeks after a mammogram, I discovered a lump while showering. It was just a bit off the scope of the machines, and none of my excellent physicians could feel it easily.

The point? Women must take responsibility for their breast exams. There are videos to instruct, and it gets easier with practice. A nuisance, yes; a life-saver, absolutely.

Nancy S. Burgess

Costa Mesa