Mammography: False Hope

The former Good Morning America host Joan Lunden announced her aggressive form of breast cancer on Twitter. However, the biggest surprise to her and her Twitter friends was the fact that just 14 days earlier a mammogram came back giving her a clean bill of health. She didn't believe it so she had an ultrasound, a test that isn't routine, which revealed the tumor.

So many women have been misguided by the notion that routine mammography screening saves lives and given false hope that as long as they follow the recommendation of annual mammography they are safe.  Yet the reality presents with the opposite conclusion. More and more studies have been published recently questioning the effectiveness of mammography screening. (1) With routine mammography cancer is frequently missed and often over diagnosed and therefore the harm might outweigh the benefit.

We need a more personalized approach to breast cancer screening. Younger women and women with fibrocystic or with high density breast tissue get little or no benefit from conventional screening with mammography. Women need to consider the use of breast thermography as a choice in risk assessment and cancer screening.  Thermography imaging is a non-invasive, radiation-free method of testing and risk assessment that compliments all other types of screening modalities. The advantage of early risk assessment with breast thermography can be life saving.

I believe that using the 10 Step Breast Cancer Prevention Program can prevent the vast majority of breast cancers. It is imperative that women are provided with accurate information that helps them understand the benefits and risks associated with different breast cancer screening modalities.  Advanced breast cancer is a terrible disease that takes a huge toll of the lives of too many women. We cannot afford to rely on the popular media or information from marketing campaigns with vested interests to make informed decisions regarding breast cancer screening.  Mammography may be useful as a diagnostic tool when necessary, but as a mass screening method it has not been effective.

1. BMJ February 11,2014