The Surprising Facts About Mammograms

Learn the things mammogram can do to us…good and bad! Check out the article we found over at Healthy and Natural World.

Many women view mammography as the ultimate preventative measure against breast cancer. The thought of not complying with the routine examination is considered an utterly irresponsible behavior. But should mammograms really be the done thing or should we question and scrutinize them?

More and more research is showing that the use of mammography in otherwise healthy women with no symptoms is controversial. There is an ongoing discussion about the risks versus benefits of this procedure. Before you have your next (or first) mammography, make sure you get informed and don’t just go along with the medical establishment.

A Large Study Doubts The Benefits Of Mammograms

In February 2014, a Canadian study that shook the breast cancer industry was published in the prominent British Medical Journal (BMJ). It compared breast cancer incidence and mortality over a period of 25 years in women aged 40 to 59 who did or did not undergo mammography screening. Women who did not receive mammography had an annual physical breast examination. Almost 90,000 women were included and the study is considered one of the largest and longest on this topic to date.

During the entire study period, 3250 women in the mammography group and 3133 in the control group received a diagnosis of breast cancer. 500 and 505, respectively, died of breast cancer. This showed that death from breast cancer was very similar between the two groups and was not influenced by the presence of mammogram.

The authors of the study concluded:

Annual mammography in women aged 40-59 does not reduce mortality from breast cancer beyond that of physical examination or usual care.

Moreover, the study showed that 22% of women in the mammography group were over-diagnosed. This resulted in one in 424 women from that group of participants receiving unnecessary cancer treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Points About Mammography You Should Consider

1. Mammograms might not be as beneficial as you think

Many women completely trust their mammography. The procedure might be able to save your life, but the success rate is not as high as we would wish. Mammography offers (at best) a risk reduction of about 20 to 25%. This is not negligible, but when we look at the absolute death prevention numbers, the screening itself prevents only one breast-cancer death in 1,000 women.

Studies that found mammograms helpful were mostly done some time ago and did not comply with the strict scientific rigor. Furthermore, Dr. Mette Kalager, an epidemiologist and screening researcher at the University of Oslo and the Harvard School of Public Health, explains that these days early breast cancer detection is somewhat less important as better treatments are available. According to many experts, it is the accessibility of drugs like tamoxifen that has reduced breast cancer mortality, and mammography plays a much lesser role.

2. Mammography can increase the risk of breast cancer in women with a specific gene mutation

Women who carry a specific gene mutation called BRCA 1/2 are more vulnerable to radiation exposure from mammography. This gene mutation is linked to cancer development. According to the BMJ study, women with this gene who received a dose of diagnostic radiation before they were 30 were twice as likely to develop breast cancer compared to their peers who did not undergo screening. The greater the dose of radiation, the more likely it was for the cancer to occur.

Generally speaking, mammography will expose you to a certain dose of radiation and there are mixed opinions about the dangers of that. While some argue that modern-day mammography involves a tiny amount of radiation, others are more cautious and warn that the radiation might be particularly dangerous to younger women.

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Read full article: 5 Surprising Facts You Didn’t Know About Mammograms