Breast Cancer and mammography screenings

Learn to do a self-exam and do it monthly! Early detection plays a key role in minimizing the impact of breast cancer.

Breast Cancer

Last year, one of the largest and longest investigations into mammography was published.

It involved 90,000 women who were followed for 25 years, and iit reported that the death rates from breast cancer were virtually identical among women who got annual mammograms and those who did not.

Moreover, it found that mammography screening had harmful effects. As reported by The New York Times:9

“One in five cancers found with mammography and treated was not a threat to the woman’s health and did not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation.”

Know the Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Mammograms can also miss the presence of cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), mammograms miss up to 20 percent of breast cancers present at the time of screening. Your risk for a false negative is particularly great if you have dense breast tissue, and an estimated 49 percent of women do.14 Mammography’s sensitivity for dense breasts is as low as 27 percent,15 which means that about 75 percent of dense-breasted women are at risk for a cancer being missed if they rely solely on mammography. Even with digital mammography, the sensitivity is still less than 60 percent.

Considering the mortality rate from breast cancer is virtually identical whether you get an annual mammogram or an annual physical breast exam, it suggests physical examination can go a long way toward detecting a potential cancer. It certainly makes sense to familiarize yourself with your breasts and the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.16,17 If you notice any of the following symptoms, be sure to address it with your doctor, even if you’re not due for an annual checkup yet.

Read the full article here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/07/28/mammogram-myths.aspx?e_cid=20150806Z1_WNL_art_3&utm_source=wnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art3&utm_campaign=20150806Z1&et_cid=DM81373&et_rid=1065031265