Mammograms

Reasons Why I Do Not Plan
on getting Getting Mammograms

American College of Physicians warns women in their  40s about dangers of mammograms
The American College of Physicians has recommended women in their 40s consult with their doctors before undergoing routine annual mammography screening. An expert panel from the American College of Physicians (ACP), which represents 120,000 internists, made this recommendation in the April 3 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

After reviewing 117 studies conducted between 1966 and 2005, the panel found the data on mammography screening for women in their 40s are so unclear that the effectiveness of reducing breast cancer death could be either 15% or “… nearly zero.”

The dangers of mammography are recognized in the medical field. According to Dr. Samuel Epstein of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, “Screening mammography poses significant and cumulative risks of breast cancer for pre-menopausal women.” (Consider getting the book "The Breast Cancer Prevention Program" by Samuel S. Epstein, MD and David Steinman)

The routine practice of taking four films of each breast annually results in approximately 1 rad (radiation absorbed dose) exposure, about 1,000 times greater than that from a chest x-ray. The pre-menopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure increasing breast cancer risk by about 1%, with a cumulative 10% increased risk for each breast over a decade’s screening. These risks are even greater for younger women subject to “baseline screening.”

The Nordic Cochrane Centre in Denmark found that
mammograms may harm 10 times as many women as they help
The researchers examined the benefits and negative effects of seven breast cancer screening programs on 500,000 women in the United States, Canada, Scotland and Sweden. The study’s authors found that for every 2,000 women who received mammograms over a 10-year period, only one would have her life prolonged, but 10 would endure unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments. 

However, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) breast screening program – which provides free mammograms for women over the age of 50 every three years – cited different statistics in defending its program. An NHS statement said the Department of Health’s advisory committee on breast cancer screening had conducted its own evaluation of the program, and found that screening prolonged the lives of five women out of every 2,000 over a 10-year period.

Mammograms cause breast cancer
Cells damaged by the radiation can become “pre-cancerous”. In addition, the high radiation (1-10 rads depending upon the exam) burns tissue as all direct radiation does. If any neurotoxins present interact with burnt or damaged breast tissue, a tumor can begin to form. The neurotoxins first inhibit the body’s ability to fight off tumor formation and the unacceptable radiation dosages finish the job. Since mammographic screening was introduced, the incidence of a form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS ) has increased by 328%. 

Mammography can also help spread existing cancer cells due to the considerable pressure placed on the woman’s breast during the procedure
According to some health practitioners, this compression could cause existing cancer cells to metastasize from the breast site. Research has also found a gene, called oncogene AC that is extremely sensitive to even small doses of radiation. A significant percentage of women in the United States have this gene, which could increase their risk of mammography-induced cancer. They estimate that 10,000 AC carriers will die of breast cancer this year due to mammography.

The risk of radiation is higher among younger women
The NCI (National Cancer Institute) released evidence that, among women under 35, mammography could cause 75 cases of breast cancer for every 15 it identifies. Another Canadian study found a 52% increase in breast cancer mortality in young women given annual mammograms. 

Is there an alternative to mammography?
Yes, but it’s not just “alternative technology.” High-resolution Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI) is fast becoming accepted mainstream technology, thanks to the discoveries of the North Carolina Institute of Technology (NCIT), a privately funded research center.

Thermal imaging (thermography) provides a safe, simple, painless, and relatively inexpensive way to identify developing breast cancer 10 years earlier than mammography. (Google "thermography" along with your ZIP code as a way of finding places in your area. Also, a health food store may have free magazines that contain ads for places that do thermography.)

Why does the American Cancer Society continue to dance to the drumbeat of mammograms, and pretend that thermal imaging is experimental?
The ACS has had a long standing indifference and even a hostility towards truly effective cancer prevention. Their charter mandates that they disband once cancer is no longer an epidemic. The very high salaries of those at the top of the ACS provide no incentive to disseminating information that can truly help reduce the likelihood of cancer. Telling the truth about mammography and thermography is just one example.


Don's comments:
Since thermography screening causes no cancer cells and has been found to be a more effective screening technique than mammography, and since its adoption by practitioners is now more widespread than ever, why are we not hearing about this on the evening news and in public service announcements from the American Cancer Society? (I think you can guess why.) So the second wisest thing to do regarding cancer is to find a place that does thermography screening, and the wisest thing to do is to stop doing the things that cause cancer in the first place, and start doing that things that support the body's efforts at preventing cancerous cells from becoming "cancer" as we know it today. These things can be found in the articles section of this website.

Related Reading:
Mammograms Cause False Positives