I've never had a mammogram, and today I’m going to tell you why I intend to keep it that way. As much as Western medicine considers mammograms “life saving” and perpetuates that you would have to be "dumb" or "stupid" not to get one, I disagree. I’m going to challenge that with realistic downsides and questionable cancer paradigms. Just like YOU, I've had close family diagnosed and die of breast cancer, and I’m still not cheering for the mammogram.
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion, and I am not suggesting anyone follow suit. I’m simply sharing what is right for me and why.
1) The research
Research suggests that mammograms help to detect early stage breast cancers, thus saving lives, however, the trend of late stage diagnosed breast cancers remains unchanged:
“But importantly, the number of cancers diagnosed at the advanced stage was essentially unchanged. If mammograms were really finding deadly cancers sooner (as suggested by the rise in early detection), then cases of advanced cancer should have been reduced in kind. But that didn’t happen. In other words, the researchers concluded, mammograms didn’t work.” -New York Times
2) Mammograms have downsides, whether or not Western medicine wants you to know. Including:
- False positive results: This means you’re told the “dreaded” results, scared out of your mind, subject to more tests, and ongoing investigation, just to find out you DON’T actually have breast cancer. This can result in a huge scare, undue stress, emotional trauma, and unnecessary medical bills.
- False negative results: False negatives readings are common too, up to 15% of breast cancer cases are missed by a mammogram (source).
- Over diagnosis and overtreatment: The New England Journal of Medicine noted that breast cancer was over diagnosed in 31% of breast cancer cases. Dr. Ray Peat agrees that over diagnosis is a great concern, “The extensive use of mammograms has increased the diagnosis of “ductal carcinoma in situ” {DCIS} by more than 1000% (a 16- or 18-fold increase in some hospitals, and expected to double in the next decade), increasing the number of mastectomies and other treatments, but the increased treatments and early diagnosis haven’t produced any visible change in the death rate." The national cancer institute says that DCIS cases are often over treated since they do not know whether or not the tumor will become cancerous. “Because doctors often cannot distinguish cancers and cases of DCIS that need to be treated from those that do not, they are all treated.” (source)
- Radiation exposure: Radiation exposure from mammograms is actually a known CAUSE of breast cancer! According to Dr. Ray Peat, PhD, “Estrogen and ionizing radiation are the most clearly documented causes of breast cancer. Their excitatory effects lead to inflammation, edema, fibrosis, and interruption of intercellular regulatory processes.”
- Curing people that don't need to be cured: According to Dr. Otis Brawley, medical officer at the American Cancer Society told NBC News, "Some of those pea-sized lesions are not going to kill. Some of those pea-sized lesions are going to regress over time. We are curing people that don't need curing."
3) I don’t agree with Western medicine’s breast cancer treatment plans.
Medical treatment of breast cancer includes “cutting, poisoning and burning” according to my grandfather, who watched his wife die of breast cancer after being strung along by Western medicine for 7 years. I really don’t think leaving the patient worse off than they were prior to toxic treatments and defeminizing procedures are the only acceptable way to treat cancer. What ever happened to “first do no harm?”
In the process of diagnosing a cancer, and during the course of treating it, the patient is usually subjected to multiple x-ray examinations, sometimes given radioactive drugs that supposedly concentrate in hidden tumors to emit positrons, and often has toxic contrast agents injected even for MRI examinations. These procedures, even before the destructive "therapies" begin, are adding to the body's inflammatory burden, interfering with the body's ability to complete a healing process. Decisions about pain control usually disregard the effects of the drugs on tumor growth and general vitality--for example, the opiates stimulate histamine release, which increases inflammation and tumor growth." Dr. Ray Peat, PhD
4) Breast Cancer is still seen by mainstream medicine as an “isolated problem” vs. a systemic one
I see cancer as the outcome of a systematic problem in the body, meaning there are underlying problems with energy metabolism, nutrient deficiencies, an excess of estrogen and chronic inflammation that produce cancer growth. Why does it make sense to just “cut out” the problem in order to "cure" or treat it? Shouldn't treatment include building up the body and supporting the bodily environment that caused the cancer?
As long as the lump is defined as an alien material, killing it by any means seems reasonable, but if it is seen as the body's attempt to repair itself, then killing it is no more reasonable than it would be to cut the spots out of someone with smallpox." Dr. Ray Peat, PhD
5) What if everyone has cancer in some form? Is it always a PROBLEM or could it just be mechanism of survival, and a part of the healing process when supported with proper diet and lifestyle?
What if everyone “has” cancer in some form? What if it’s merely a sign of aging that is accelerated with stress, hormonal imbalances, excess estrogen, and malnutrition?
Many years ago, Harry Rubin was impressed by hearing from a pathologist that he had been able to find diagnosable cancer somewhere in the body of every person over the age of 50 that he had autopsied. If everyone has cancer by the age of 50, that means that cancer is harmless for most people, and that small cancers might frequently appear, and be spontaneously removed as part of the body's regular house-cleaning. One of the reasons that spontaneous regression of tumors seems so rare is undoubtedly that most tumors are quickly cut out by surgeons." Dr. Ray Peat, PhD
6) I support PREVENTION vs. CURE
In the end, raising awareness of regular mammograms further shifts the focus to diagnosing the illness of cancer, NOT preventing the illness itself!
As a nutritional therapist, I’d prefer to focus on prevention, which for me includes a nourishing diet, using data on my body to eat and supplement right, listening to my body and reducing cancer risk factors (including mammograms), as well as looking into alternatives to mammograms like breast thermography. In this way, I'm supporting my body and its natural desire for health.
When cells are fully nourished, supplied with protective hormones, and properly illuminated, their ability to communicate should be able to govern their movements, preventing--and possibly reversing--metastatic migration." Dr. Ray Peat, PhD.
Time to share your thoughts, and I’m curious—what do you think?
*To those of you who aren’t familiar with the business of cancer, I recommend this article about the business of cancer and also the chronicles of a young woman who lost her life to breast cancer, and in the few years of her fight, her insurance company was billed over 1.26 million dollars.
PIN IT:
References:
Bloomberg. The shaky foundations for the new mammogram economy. 2012. Retrieved on October 6, 2013 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-01/shaky-foundations-for-the-new-mammogram-economy.html
Forbes. The financial side of cancer- what it really costs. 2013. Retrieved on October 6, 2013 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/10/04/the-financial-side-of-cancer-what-it-really-costs/2/
National Cancer Institute. Mammograms Factsheet. 2012. Retrieved on October 4, 2013 from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/mammograms
New England Journal of Medicine. 2012. Retrieved on October 6, 2013 from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1206809
New York Times. Ignoring the science on mammograms. 2012 Retrieved on October 6, 2013 from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/ignoring-the-science-on-mammograms/?_r=0
Peat, Ray. Breast Cancer. Retrieved on October 4, 2013 from http://raypeat.com/articles/aging/breastcancer.shtml
Peat, Ray, Cancer: Disorder and Energy. 2013. Retrieved on October 4, 2013 from http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/cancer-disorder-energy.shtml
Peat, Ray. Leakiness, aging & cancer. 2006. Retrieved on October 4, 2013 from http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/leakiness.shtml
Time to Rethink Mammograms, American Cancer Society Top Doc Says. 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017 http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/one-three-women-diagnosed-breast-cancer-wrongly-study-n704941
Leanne Swan
I fully believe this article and support your findings. I also think that there are other things in our society that brings on cancer, not just diet and old age. I believe that the chemicals (like radiation) that we live with day in and day out are HUGE problem in the rise in cancer. We can have the cleanest of homes and yet be so sick because of the bleach, ammonia, formaldehyde and the like! Cancer started to rise when these cleaning agents were introduced to us! We have since rid our homes of these nasty chemicals, stopped eating as much processed food as possible (even bought a few chickens for the backyard for eggs and boy are they good!!!), and see our chiropractor on a regular basis! Did you know that keeping your spine in good health is paramount to keeping your immune system running in high gear to fight off the cancer? MANY patients that have undergone chiropractic care for their cancer and NO radiation treatment and have been cured simply by boosting their own immune systems to fight it off! So I think it's a few different things we can do to keep ourselves healthy: 1) see a chiropractor on a regular basis. 2) remove the cleaning agents in your home and shop more natural, non toxic cleaners (see my website for details on that). and 3) Stay away from processed foods and live a more active lifestyle. 🙂
Trixie
I agree with this article and I agree with Leann's comment but I think it goes even deeper that radiation, cleaning products, and processed food. I believe that cancer starting showing up exponentially in the last 20 years............coincidentally, this is the same time period that biotech giants started quietly slipping genetically engineered plants into our food supply hoping nobody would notice. They lucked out, for a long time, nobody did notice; but now we're catching on and they are spending MILLIONS of dollars and fighting tooth and nail against the growing outrage of Americans to put labels on the products they have tampered with. I believe that God gave us food and he created our bodies to get sustenance from that food; but when science changes the DNA of the food, our perfectly and divinely engineered bodies cannot process it as such which results in DISEASE. I will never get a mammogram, and I know it's not a popular opinion but I have almost zero faith in the medical profession as a whole at this point.
marlene keller
I agree wholeheartedly with your take on this. I long came to the conclusion that we all more than likely have cancer come and go when our immune systems are given a chance to dismiss it. My take, in a nutshell, is this motto: stay away from doctors and hospitals, period, Your body can heal itself given adequate time; if you allow doctors to poke and prod and use invasive procedures they will interrupt the body's process of healing, enabling them to diagnose and begin the process of invasive cutting, chemo, and radiation leading to debilitation and likely premature death. Don't go to doctors and you will live.
Dhammagirl
I agree!
Kathie
I agree with you 100%. Monsanto and mammograms must GO!
A Realist
How the crap do you think we have our modern food? We bred it for thousands of years to make it plumper and have greater yields. It's not like what we're doing now is fundamentally different! All crops and livestock are GMOS and have been since God created the world! Anyway, He instructs us to have dominion over the plants and animals. Improving the yield and resistance of our food-- is that not fulfilling our duty?!
Allyson Turner
He instructs us? So God is a He? Oh yes. Of course, It is. Because energy has gender. Here's your first clue that you got the wrong translation of your book - Dominion OVER the plants and animals? Are you on crack? How exactly do you see that working? This is also your first clue that your book was written by a bunch of fear, control and domination obsessed men. Wake up.
Roni
This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. I work in a breast center. You are exposed to far more radiation on one airplane ride than many mammograms.
What about the 20 and 30 year olds with breast cancer should they not have treatment or imaging?
I am not saying nutrition shouldn't be a part of the plan of car but it can't be the entire plan. Regular screening prevents women from having late stage disease most of the time.
lisa
It sounds like you missed the research from the New England Journal of Medicine that found that the number of cases of advanced cancer diagnosed were NOT reduced with mammograms. And research has shown that women getting mammograms were just as likely to die as women not getting mammograms. While you may see things working at a breast center, anecdotal evidence does not trump research.
So when you take a look at the research and see that there's really no benefit, NOW compare it to the risks. While the radiation may be low, it's still present. And (as you pointed out) you get it from other sources as well so you should reduce exposure where possible. Plus the added emotional roller coaster with over-diagnosis and treatment.
Really I think the biggest thing is that patients should be informed of *both* sides and allowed to make their own decisions. Instead the medical community overall is ignoring the research and using fear mongering to say that everyone needs to get them.
Fred
the research provided in the posts is examining issues with current treatment. in no way does it say that not getting a mammogram is a far less risky choice than not getting one. i think that anyone knowing anything about cancer (research based information from highly regarded journals and not articles from a website) knows that the risk is far less than the reward. as for the argument that states that western treatments of cancer are extremely painful and not worth it. compared to any alternative it's still worth it.
also im going to assume thatthe individual working with breast cancer isn't working from “anecdotal" evidence
Jennifer
You're all talking as if there's no option for screening other than mammograms. Breast thermography is less risky, far less invasive, and is better at finding abnormalities.
su smith
breast themography is great for detecting a developed breast cancer with a good blood supply. however it is not so great at detecting small micro invasive or non invasive cancers since they donot have a good blood suply. the test is very user dependant and to be effective neeed to be repeated every 3 months. the results vary greatly dependant on the time in the menstrual cycle. breast screening detects very small and non invasive cancers that can be treated by surgery alone...the downside obviously is it detects pre cancerous tumours which patients may have treatment for when the medical profesion as yet cannot predict when they will develop into an invasive cancer. you talk about chemotherapy and radiotherapy. but these are often not necessary if the cancer is detected and treated early enough. i agree with the comments on nutrition and avioding chemicals. a healthy diet rich in vitamins and minerals and anti oxidants reduces cell damage. its difficult to avoid chemicals compleatly in the world we live in today and it has been proved that obesity increases oestrogen levels and in turn increases the risk of breast cancer. but you can live the most wholsome life in the world and still develop any cancer. cancer doesnot discrimate. none of us know who will or willnot develop it. im all for prevention, but im also for early detection and diagnosis, and early less invasive treatment. i never saw a cancer shrink through eating apples, but ive seen it shrink through effective and well tested treatments. can you show me any evidence of good nutrition shrinking cancers?
can i draw your attention to the Marmott review http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/breast-screening-review-exec_0.pdf
it proves that screening does save lives, but at the risk of overdiagnosis. knowledge is power!
but if you arent going to get any treatment if you do develop cancer then what is the point of finding it ...by any method?
Debbie
I totally agree. Everyone should get both sides of the story and then get to decide themselves what they want to do.
Terry
Hi. I know this is an old thread but am doing my own research on this subject and came across your article. I agree with your points on nutrition, hormones, lifestyle, reactive poor treatment etc BUT you don't mention stats on how detection prolongs life. We are all going to die. The point is how long have we got and how can a machine or a process help anything?
It is incumbent on a person to go for testing. I think this sentence is poorly written that you re-quoted: “But importantly, the number of cancers diagnosed at the advanced stage was essentially unchanged. If mammograms were really finding deadly cancers sooner (as suggested by the rise in early detection), then cases of advanced cancer should have been reduced in kind. But that didn’t happen. In other words, the researchers concluded, mammograms didn’t work.”
People need to go for a Mammogram. Just because some people go earlier in the process doesn't mean that the people who go later when the cancer has advanced is reduced, it possibly just means that MORE people are being detected with cancer?
No medicine is fool-proof, but to suggest that detection is invalid with such low percentages as margins for error, is not wisdom. It's the very attitude of "it will never happen to me" that has caused a delaying in detection in the first place.No Mammogram machine can prevent that malaise, doesn't make the technology ineffective.
sally robinson
Hi,
I feel your article is really interesting and I have also read that research and are that mammograms don't tell the whole picture. I had just had breast cancer and it was invasive. I found a lump (I am over 50) and I went for a mammogram. The mammogram confirmed a lump that was all, but it prompted a biopsy and ultrasound, which further confirmed cancer. Without an operation (even in victorian times there were incidences of cancer) my chances of being alive would have been 30%, but with lumpectomy, node removal and radiation my survival rate is 93%.
I do believe diet plays a role in healing, I have a juicer that can deliver nutrients to help body eliminate estrogens that encourage cancers to proliferate in the breast and of course more mammograms are a risk as much as they can benifit detection. life is risky but we need to calculate the risks versus the benefits.
Women have been getting breast cancer long before we had mammograms and they do not cause cancer, but over diagnosis is a risk too as doctors do not know which cancers will remain as DCIS and which will turn into invasive cancer.
My advice is be vigilant, self check, and trust the consultant to give you their opinion as they know the risks and I have never met a doctor in the UK who doesn't follow the mantra 'do no harm';
If you are unsure get a second opinion and trust they will help.
don't be afraid either, if you eats well, and you live well your risk of getting breast cancer is low and if you do remember you have lots of options. It's not as bad as you fear, life is good.
Dhammagirl
Yes. Well put.
Cathy F.
Working in a breast center and researching the disease are two different things. There is a growing body of evidence that supports what Catherine has said in her article. Dismissing it out of hand as "absurd" is simplistic and maybe even dangerous. We've been conditioned to believe everything that anyone with an M.D. behind their name tells us. But, frankly, most of their information comes from research paid for by drug companies. None of the doctors who operated on my cancer could tell me anything substantial about my disease...they didn't understand it, only how to treat it by the "approved" methods. Do some independent research. You may be surprised what you find out. God bless!
Sarah
When you get your MD is when you should share your personal opinion. Out of all of the articles you used to quote , did you read the FULL articles?
christine
That makes no sense yo me. Why would someone ever be required to have professional credencials to offer a personal opinion on any subject? Do you not hold (or ever express) your own personal opinion on topics for which you have no professional training? Isn't that the very reason it's called a PERSONAL opinion rather than a PROFESSIONAL opinion? Not sure about the other part of your comment. I have not read any of the references to know whether or not they are being misrepresented.
Sara
There is a disclaimer at the beginning. You know going into this that it is an opinion. If you have a problem with it, then go do the research yourself and come to your own conclusion. And, then, if you feel so moved, write your own blog.
Everett Vinzant
Why I won't comment on this "opinion."
A sure road to madness is debating that individual that believes ignorance and irrationality are to be respected as opinions.
Jenny
I don't give a damn if she's sharing her opinion, she is putting other people at risk by feeding them misinformation. "Western Medicine" is science. She has cited three studies as saying mammograms don't work. There are hundreds that say mammograms do work. What she is saying here is about as stupid as saying that vaccination is bad,
Allyson Turner
Vaccinations are bad. As a matter of fact the entire AMA is an atrocity. Rather than focusing on health, it's a business model based on the perpetuation of illness. I stand with Catherine on this issue and pretty much all of the information she'blogs about, and as a 56 year old woman who suffered many illnesses and way too many surgeries as a child, I will continue to steer clear of the AMA and continue on my path of natural wellness that has thus far kept me looking and feeling at least 20 years younger than most people my age.
Mel
Your just too ignorant to even look at the other side of Healthcare, which is called nutrition. Give yourself a favor and watch videos on you tube on how to cure cancer naturally. There's many ways, and chemo and radiation are definitely not in the picture.
Myriam
Mel. there are several studies showing that mammograms provide false positives 50% of the time, maybe even more often. DO a little research. I'm 56 and have never had a mammogram and will not. It's also a heavy dose of radiation which has been proven to contribute to breast cancer as well. You may want to look at other points of view as you're closing yourself off to healthier alternatives like thermography which can detect breast cancer and is much more accurate, not harmful like radiation. I haven't had that either because I will not be motivated by scare tactics and have spent many years looking reading about the ill effects. I also gave birth to my last two children at home, which is safer than giving birth in a hospital. I was almost 41 with the last one. No meds and no interventions. Western Medicine is big business and the patient's wellbeing and health are not at the forefront of much of what is done in the name of medical science, which is constantly changing by the way.
mark culbertson
@ sara , watch the movie Lonrinzro oil, doctors refused and cdc refused to find a cure , the kids father did it on his own, a true story, Md some times stands for money demon, cause alot of treatments are designed to create a money flow, ccommon sense , horse sense , with a little education goes along way, just like a Tribut monk cures cancer with natiral erbs , 20/20 did a show with him brought him to USA and CDC only appoved 45% of his erbs to be brought here , these were natural grown in wild plants, and he ccured cancer, deseases make money, just like treatments make money , alot of doctors order them to build their retirement fund, if we didnt have a dease or virus 30 years ago then where it come from ? Are they man made to get money ? think about. How can they predict a ephicdemic of the flu when its a virus in which is around 24/7 / 365, but only occurs a few monthes a year? this isnt rocket science, as for mamags alot of miss reads and biops to find only a fatty mass ? how about improving the system.
Jenny
It takes a special kind of stupid to write something like this.
Keri
The government does create disease and then they hold back the cure to sell us drugs...
CT
AMEN
Mel
Yes. Agreed. It's so so sad especially now that there's so much childhood cancer and babies are dying because people are so ignorant. There's definitely a cure and it's called nurturing them with nutrition. Not shove them full of a poison called chemo and blasting them with radiation. Sick and sad.
Rita
It's not that we didn't have a certain disease or virus 30 years ago, it's that because the population was smaller and fewer people had it, it went undiagnosed or passed off as something else. Also, microorganisms and bacteria can mutate. It's all part of evolution.
A Realist
Man, you talk a lot about how doctors and pharmacists have to make money to cover their expensive research. What is your job? I'm assuming it isn't R&D because that's the most idiotic argument someone can make. Seriously, take a minute to think (and rearrange those offensively placed commas, please) about how much the equipment, labor, and materials actually cost for a medical lab, and understand that it might bankrupt a lab to make drugs for one sick kid. Think of the others that would suffer if the lab dropped everything trying to cure other more predominant diseases to get this one kid treatment. It's like the trolley problem with the switches and the tracks and the people on the tracks ...but with bankruptcy and real consequences.
Tammy
You my dear Sarah, are one of many of the sheep that has been brainwashed by the mainstream industries; media, pharmaceutical, medical, food, etc... I'm willing to bet you haven't heard of thermography either. You should pull your head out of the sand and do some research yourself. Read some articles from mercola.com, naturalnews.com, drday.com, drchristinehorner.com, watch a few documentaries such as: Food Matters, Hungry for Change, and Cut Poison Burn and the Burzynski movies.
What Catherine has stated here is very true, and there are many natural-minded people out there that will tell you exactly what she has stated in this fine article.
MyMichelet
Dr. Christine Horner did my breast augmentation back in May '97...dang I found out she sold her practise a few years later and moved across the country I believe. She lobbied with Clinton to make insurance companies pay for reconstruction surgery because woman were choosing to keep their breasts after being diagnosed and then dying- her own mother include I believe.
Great article and great debate-thread. Stop donating to awareness ppl, invest funds into alternative cures, anything works over the poisoning of ones body which can never be good!!
Catherine
There are other screening options available- self exams (knowing your body), thermography breast screening, and (possibly) blood testing.
The purpose of my post was to take the focus off of the "diagnostic technique of the mammogram", and think about the bigger picture here ---> PREVENTION.
Catherine
Geri
I have had one each year since I was 35 because I have a family history on both my parents sides. I do everything I can do, include eating healthy and self exams. If having a mammogram saves ONE woman's life, how can you justify what you have said here? How will you feel, if in one year, a woman's family writes to you to tell you that because of your post, their mother or daughter or aunt or grandmother decided to stop getting mammograms and now is facing a diagnosis of metastatic disease?
Catherine
Thanks Geri for sharing your opinion. But playing the "blame" game because one shares their opinion is highly irrelevant. There is something called personal responsibility for you own choices and actions.
I think there is much more to the story than simply counting lives saved vs lost. What about all those who were diagnosed and treated unnecessarily? What about all those who were treated and lost their lives sooner to harmful treatments? What about those who could have recovered without treatment? We just don't know, there are so many possibilities that we can't measure.
Let's be adults here and not play the blame game for starting a discussion, and {gasp}- questioning conventional medicine and the cancer industry. Part of any treatment should include knowing many different sides to a story, and being able to ask important questions to make the right decision for you. This is much more a discussion about mammograms than telling anyone what to do. Please be respectful of everyones' right to share their thoughts. Please read my comment policy if you need clarification.
Allyson
Brilliant response, Catherine and I not only agree with you, I applaud you for your intelligent, courageous and insightful blogs...
michele
I think those who are saying your article is ridiculous are missing the point of what has been written. Plus, let's look at this another way, it is called the "Practice" of medicine for a reason...not the "Perfection" of medicine. Tests are called "tests" for a reason. They are for testing the theory a doctor has when someone falls ill.
I had a friend that recently died of breast cancer (she fought long and hard), she had had mammograms for years. This did not detect her breast cancer, thermology did. (the mass was missed for 3 years, when they went back to re-examine her mammograms, it was finally seen by a radiologist with over 20 years experience, where the fairly new radiologist had missed it for 3 years)
Thank you for your article and giving the knowledge to be able to choose other options.
Autumn
Well said!
Tricia
I was the one who advocated that my doctor remove breast cysts. The mammogram can be interpretaTed incorrectly. Because of my desire to have a biopsy it was the start of finding my early cancer. I am on a regiment of improving my nutrition, sleep, and stress. Cancer does not develop overnight.
Courtney
What Catherine is trying to get across is that there are options. As she stated earlier there are Thermograms, Ultrasounds and MRI's. I was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago and will never have another mammogram. I only get Thermograms as they are a great indicator of breast health change. I recently had issues with my lumpectomy scar and got an Ultrasounds and MRI to make sure the tissue was okay.
I wish I had been open to articles and advice like this years ago, I would have been preventing instead of being on the other side which is extremely costly and emotionally taxing. It is hard to go against the norm and what is accepted and I appreciate people like Catherine and the doctors I work with who are willing to take a stand. I have healed myself naturally using a genticist and changing my diet to all natural, unprocessed foods, cutting out all sugar and anything white (flour & sugar)
Cecilia J
I agree with you Roni. This is TOTALLY AND OUTRAGEOUSLY RIDICULOUS !!!!!!!! I do Mammography in a Radiology Dept in a hospital and know for a FACT that Mammograms save lives by catching a cancer at an EARLY stage so that it can be treated and be cured. HELLO PEOPLE OPEN YOUR EYES !!!!!!
Claudia
Cecilia you need to open your eyes!
Our health is just a business to our government
It's what brings in the cash flow!!
Having us healthy doesn't fill their pockets, and this article isn't ridiculous. Are you aware that microwaves emir radiation??? Guess what, I'm not stupid enough to have one in my home!
Are you aware of the radiation that has leaked at the Fukushima power plant in Japan??
It's reached the west coast of the United States and it's not being spoken of openly to the masses..why??
Because openly speaking of it will get people to not want to go to the beach and they will not want to consume fish!
Business as usual for our government, who pays the price?
The clueless masses like yourself.
Quit believing all you are fed by the government and medical field do your own task thinking, you might really learn something!
Within a few years your going to see health problems on the rise because of Fukushima
More money in their pockets!
Keri
🙂
mel
Well said claudia!!!
Allyson
How do you know that practicing good health, (eating right and avoiding chemicals and toxins, etc.), can't be the entire plan? Why wouldn't it be? And how many of the people who show up at your breast center have been following such a protocol? What exactly do you base your opinion on?
Mary
Anyone who wants to rely on "natural" methods to prevent breast cancer needs to take certain facts into consideration before assuming that a "clean" lifestyle can reduce your cancer risk to zero:
1. Cancer existed long before modern processed diets and environmental toxins existed. There is archaeological evidence of cancerous tumors in prehistoric times. Eating organic foods obviously didn't prevent those cancers.
2. It is impossible to avoid all environmental toxins. Toxins like car exhaust and certain chemicals have permeated almost all parts of Earth's biosphere.
3. I personally expect that we will find HPV is not the only virus that can cause cancer.
4. Some cancers are caused by radiation. You are being exposed to radiation all the time just by existing on this planet. The longer you live, the more exposure you will accrue.
Can you reduce your risk? Yes. Eliminate your risk? Absolutely not!
Margaret
Well said!
Rachel
Thank you!!!
cleanliver
good synopsis - but are you saying that theres no point trying to avoid toxins because they're ubiquitous? Cuz I'm still motivated to reduce my exposure.
April
I don't believe it was ever said that cancer would be at a 0% chance of developing. Only that the possibility would be reduced. You are right that cancer has been around for a very long time, though there is a lot of studies that have proven that there are things that we can do to greatly reduce the chances of cancer developing in our bodies. If you are one of the people that believe you should enjoy all the things that can cause further harm to your body with out care of the future, because you are addicted to it or enjoy it so much you can not give it up, then by all means do what you have to to try to detect a problem when it appears so you can make the decision needed for a future.
I will do what I can to make the decisions now for my own future.
Kathy Ruder
Unfortunately, you are correct. There are toxins out there that get into our systems and are extremely difficult. to get rid of once they are present in the environment and in our bodies. I saw a program once that a man tried to get all of the toxins out of his body (found by an md testing blood).....while he was able to reduce many of them, some did not leave. It has to do with the chemical nature of the toxin.
Our bodies are complex beings and I don't think any one thing (or system of human thinking holds all the answers. I think there is truth in Western medicine and at the same time, there is truth in other ways of thought.. I've met people that promote and eat healthy food and end up plagued with disease. I've met people that do whatever they want and live to 100! A lot has to do with individual genetics., I suspect..
If my daughters (I have four) came to me and asked my advice about mammograms, I would I them that is not the only screening method.. I would never say do not have one, ever. Personally I would like to see all doctors discussing ALL the options open to deal with any disease. Generally I am not fond of Western medicines approach to healing/health. However, I still go to a regular MD....I also go to a chiropractor and have association with an herbalist.
My great grandmother died from breast cancer, long before they had any real treatment for it. Watching her die was something my grandmother never got over. From the stories my aunt told, I got the idea that she had a tumor that burst when she fell and struck her chest on concrete stairs. The cancer was likely the type that is estrogen fueled, and it spread all through her. They did do a mastectomy, but it was of no use.. Other than this case. there is no other known cases of cancer on either side of my family (and trust me, not all of them eat or ate well!). I think it goes beyond just diet, exposure to toxins, etc. I read somewhere that there is a theory that cancer results from a virus.....there is also evidence that genetics play a part in the disease.
The only argument that I have heard to date is that the pressure from a conventional mammogram can burst a tumor....just as my great grandmother had happen.
I am definitely FOR conventional. testing. Had my best friend of years ago had conventional testing instead of just being tossed pills, she would be alive today. She having bleeding between periods. The dr just put her on birth control pills and let it continue for six months before saying, you need a hysterectomy. When they went in........turned out she had uterine cancer......estrogen fueled at that. The cancer not only had taken over her uterus but had spread to her lung . They ended up removing not only her uterus but part of her lung. It did not stop there. The cancer spread to her brain......so many tumors they could not even begin to get them all. She passed away in April of 2000 at the age of 44. She still had three kids at home.. Had the dr ordered an exam.....he didn't eve follow well known protocol at the time that advised NEVER to give birth control pills to anyone with bleeding between periods.
It is all too important that we research options and request alternate opinions. Closing our minds to any method of thought/practice is more often than not disastrous.....case and point those refuse conventional medicine altogether and end up dying needless deaths. Yes, mammogram are not foolproof. Nor is alternative medicine because there are definitely people who embraced that and died from cancer too.
Mel
Kathy I respect your thoughtful comment. I agree that doctors should never give estrogen based pills to someone who's bleeding between periods. I had an ultrasound done that showed a uteran polyp and did research on it. Turns out it's caused from too much estrogen.
As women, our hormones basically rule our lives. I've had 7 misscarraiges and have 3 healthy children. What I didn't know is that my body needed progesterone badly. Once I was able to get the correct dose, I was able to carry my precious baby girl to term.
We should always try to be in tune with our body and our hormones, and get tested anytime something like misscarages, odd periods, or lumps and cysts come up. I'm all for the natural way of healing the body, but I also see a need for western medicine too.
When you have something like a polyp, fibroid, cyst, or lump, your body has inflammation. There are natural ways to reduce inflammation, such as eating a dairy, grain, sugar and fake sugar free diet. Lots of raw fruits and vegetables and good fats, such as avocados, coconut oil, fish, and nuts and seeds. Along with organic beef and chicken.
Kathleen Stone
I never read anything so stupid in my life. I had breast cancer and the only way it was found was by mammogram/ It was not one you could find by feeling.
Heather
GMOs and Roundup are the major cause of all of our medical problems that we have today. Every cell has the potential to turn into cancer, but the immune system kills it off normally. When you are eating GMOs doused with lethal doses of Roundup, you cannot fight off anything because you are eating a slow acting poison. The more you eat, the sicker you get. Bovine Growth Hormone also causes breast and reproductive cancer. Geo engineering is spraying aluminum, barium, stongium and other toxic metals into the air. We breathe those particles in and they cause all kinds of problems. When those particles come down to the Earth, they get into the root system and prevent the roots from absorbing water, which then leads to the plant or trees death. GMOs are put in food, medicine, beauty products, soap, shampoo, pet food, baby formula, toothpaste, etc. Basically the rulers of the world are poisoning everything that we eat or use in or on our bodies. Fluoride is poison and shouldn't be in the water or in oral care products. Everything that people believe is safe is actually poison. Only organic products are safe to eat and use.. All water should be filtered to remove heavy metals and toxins from the pollution being dumped around the world.
Maureen
Totally agree, Thanks to a mammogram my grain of rice sized tumour was found and I am now cancer free. If not found early, it would have grown and been more of a concern. Tumours feed off sugars... cut all sugar from your diet.
angel
yes! cut the sugars, add green tea and do some fasting. I hate that the doctors do not tell people this. I always see the cancer unit on tv doing a cupcake / doughnut / party. OMG~~why. and do not dare tell them to cut out that sugar. OR fast, or drink as much green tea as possible. lord forbid!
Jayda
"A 14-hour trip from New York to Tokyo produces about 0.1 millisieverts, less than a quarter of the radiation needed for a mammogram."
mel
Cancer cannot live in an alkalized body. Cancer thrives in an acidic body. Nutrition is key.
Dianne
My mother lived 6months after diagnosis.. refused tx, stage 4. She went on a raw diet, alkalized her body, had weekly colonics.. to no avail, it spread and she died. All Cancer isn't the same. That's not to say a healthy diet would maybe work on some, just not all. I guess what I'm trying to say is give us facts of real instances instead of just assuming that a healthy, good, alkaline diet will reduce/cure cancer.
PS. If your grandmother wouldn't have gotten modern medicine tx for 7years, she would have probably only lived 6 months, so she bought herself some time with your grandfather, their choice.. so don't knock it.. it was a choice..she still died, but had more time which is the case with many cancer patients.
Beverly
You are biased because you work in the industry. Thermo imaging is a much better way to go and not toxic.
Rita
I think the bigger problem is we don't get checked for it often enough. People go years or often just wait for a concern to get a mammogram. I think people wait to long and should self-examine themselves more often and start getting mammograms as early as their 20s or 30s, but most people wait until their 40s. Now, chemotherapy is a whole different story. I'm very mixed about it.
Matt
I agree! I can’t believe someone posted this crap. Mammograms saved my mother’s life TWICE. She would no be here without one! Be honest...address your own personal fear of not getting a mammogram and don’t push off your crap as truth on others. Awful...
Patricai
Regular screening exposes women to a very direct line of radiation, and radiation causes cancer. And many times they will say it's Stage 0 and still treat will chemo and radiation, when a stage 0 cancer in the breast is pretty common and can go away on it's own, especially when treating it with nutrition.
I will never get another mammogram. I'll get an ultrasound.,
Allyson Turner
Yes. Radiate my boob, won't you? I have very high expectations of that being a solution. And while you're at it, will you please flood my body with tons of chemical toxins so that I can get well. Thank you for presenting such a sane and viable solution as opposed to the myriad ACTUAL solutions that DO exist. Oh. And also, thank you for killing off the people who try to bring the natural, human and life friendly solutions into the equation. I need to go for now. I need to eat lots of American food so that I can keep my toxic load as high as possible.
Donna
Sounds like someone didn’t do well on their radiation physics exam. Have you even read the breast cancer literature? If you had you would realize that mammograms are bad science. The cancers they do detect are only the ones in which tissue around the cancer are displaced. They are unable to visualize virtually any cancers in women with dense breasts, which is most women over 40. Switzerland has actually outlawed the mammogram because low level ionizing radiation has such high potential in cumulative doses to cause breast cancer. Conversely, ultrasounds and MRI’s are consistently found to be equal or superior to the mammogram in detecting breast cancer. Please, educate yourself before you kill people.
Edith Aint
To all you oncologists and radiologists preaching your bullshit:
Nope, no one of any age should be treated for cancer. If we end world hunger, cure every other disease, cancer will kill us all. Cancer is the end game. We all die someday, whether in 6 months or 60 years, our species will go extinct someday, whether this minute or next millennia, and cancer is the ultimate failsafe against our vain attempts at comfort and immortality. Your career field is one of the most futile, aside from perhaps police officers. Have fun wasting your lives away. And no, I don't think we should fly either.
Tammy
Loved the info. I haven't had a mammogram yet and I just have an aversion to getting one even though I too have family members who have had run ins with breast cancer and a friend who was diagnosed with BC with a mammogram. I think the rise in a lot of our health issues stems from multiple sources of which toxins, overly and wrongly processed foods, GMO's, etc. are probably some of the main sources. Let's also not forget about vaccines.
Elizabeth Jordon
Cervical cancer that spread to lymph nodes is one of the chapters in my story. Routine paps was also part of my health care choice. I am grateful. The rate at which the cancer grew in one year was like the mold on uneaten bread on on my counter. At the time, I choose chemo, radiation and two surgeries. It's been 13 years. I stopped going for the recommended pap smears about 7 years ago. It finally dawned on me that there was nothing left for them to look at! However, my education about the effects on my body regarding what is 'on the end of my fork' or 'in my cup' - my friend Dr. Helene Leonetti - she's worth looking up! http://helenebleonettimd.com/ - changed it all. I do not fear cancer's return. I live my life consciously. Nutrition, movement, conscious breathing, healthy relationships, healthy boundaries and a heart wide open is my formula for living.
Thank you for reminding me to read, to choose from a place of gathered knowledge and internal wisdom. This body is inhabited by, well, ME and I get to choose. I continue to pass on fear based health choices.
sarah murphy
As a woman with a similar story, I do go for the follow up exams. I still have an annual exam. While there is no longer a cervix to be concerned over in my body, there is still tissue that was connected to it, and part of an ovary. My personal opinion is that I'll be darned if I have survived a 10 year battle with cervical cancer to die of something stupid like a tumor at the surgical site, on my bladder, or on the remaining part of the ovary. My OB/GYN is trained to look for all internal dysfunction. If yours isn't, you may need a different OB/GYN. again, my opinion.
Gerry
a great preventative for many forms of cancer including breast is to start taking RSO, it kills the cancer and keeps it from returning. also prevents masses from being formed. no nasty side effects . I've known several folks who have rid themselves of cancers with it. I take it on a daily basis to prevent.
Jen
What is RSO?
Mary
I agree with the information about mammograms. I feel they are unsafe and with breast cancer rising, we need to look at prevention not cure! Don't get me started on all of the money being spent on cancer research. If we spent a portion of that on teaching people about making healthier choices and not letting "genetics" be a death sentence, cancer would fall. On another note, I know women who have opted for a thermography scan instead of a mammogram. What are your thoughts on that?
Jackie of all Trades SpoolTeacher
So glad to get this supportive article. I shared and pinned it for all of my friends who think I'm crazy to compare to the pink ribbon posts they are propagating. I don't have mammograms either; but was a lemming for a period of my life, so my body burden of radiation is more than I'd like. As one of my JoaTST "jobs", I take elder ladies to appointments occasionally. I want so much to talk to all the ladies streaming in and out of the "bus" but know that they don't have ears to hear. I just do my best to lead by example. I had an occasion lately to "witness" about eating and Big Pharma's role in our health paradigm and was almost run off with a hatchet. Fortunately, I stuck to my guns and the lady has gained new respect for me. You can't back down when confronted, was my takeaway from that, as she sat there waiting for her son who is dying from Chemo treatment was off getting junk food for them both. ieee! Even though I feel strange happenings in my upper left quadrant, I am convinced that my body will work if I feed it right. I much prefer to learn to read my body right than have a Dr. of Pharmacy direct me to the dragons. Thanks again.
Catherine
Thanks Jackie for the sharing and support <3! You are a strong woman!
Margaret
There's more to preventing and treating cancer than good diet and lifestyle. My chiropractor died of breast cancer at age 61 despite a perfect diet, non-toxic lifestyle and the best holistic treatment available. I doubt she ever had a mammogram in her life, as she didn't believe in them, and she had no conventional treatment, only holistic. Her diet consisted of pastured meat and eggs, raw goat milk and organic vegetables. She practiced yoga and meditation and took frequent vacations to recharge. She ate no grains, sweets or processed vegetable oils and minimal carbs. My point is, you can do everything "right" and still die of cancer.
sarai
Margaret, how do you know what your chiro was doing and eating at home. Were you living with her? How would you know if she had emotional baggage, guilt, hatred, and grudges in her life. That causes cancer as well.
Margaret
I know what my chiropractor was eating because she worked out of her home, I did petsitting for her in her home (so I saw what food was in her house), we were both in the Weston A. Price Foundation and discussed our diets, and we often shared food purchases from farmers. No, I don't know everything that went in her mouth, but I have a pretty good idea of what she was eating. Yes, I agree there can be emotional components to illness but this blog was about preventing cancer with nutrition and I just want people to be aware that eating the perfect diet is not always sufficient to prevent or cure cancer. There can be other factors involved as well.
Janine Patching
You state she ate meat. Has anyone looked at the China study. Animal proteins being more than 5% of your diet can turn cancer on!!
Lauren
Janine, I would read this to begin. I am all for eating a plant-based diet, but research behind The China Study has been re-looked at, and animal proteins do not cause cancer. Thankfully, scientists and health professionals are now starting to agree that animal proteins and saturated fats are not "evil" like they were thought to be.
http://chriskresser.com/rest-in-peace-china-study
http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6340
Margaret
Also, I would recommend reading the evaluation of the China Study by Chris Masterjohn, who has a PhD in nutrition:
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/China-Study.html
Allyson
I agree - you probably can "do" everything right and still die of cancer. I think that in addition to all of the physical stuff that we do that we absolutely must always stay on top of the emotional and energetic components of our lives. This is not to say that your chiropractor friend didn't do this as well, just sayin'...
Margaret
I agree that the emotional and energetic components are important, too, and my chiropractor did address these. She went to numerous practitioners and studied various programs to address these components and completed extensive shamanic training. IMO, although there are clearly dietary, emotional and energetic causes of cancer, I don't believe it can be prevented/cured 100% by addressing these. We can certainly reduce its incidence but I think it is foolhardy to believe we can totally eliminate it by addressing these. It is a complex disease with many causes, and it occurs in animals too, including wild animals and even prehistoric animals (before people existed). I just read a fascinating book called The Cancer Chronicles by George Johnson which describes the history of cancer and how it has been found in dinosaur fossils. It occurs in all animals, though more so in warm-blooded animals (mammals) than cold-blooded, and it occurred in paleolithic man (before the dawn of agriculture).
Lauren
Well I sure hope you are never diagnosed, because as a a 30 year old survivor, I can assure you that it really sucks. I especially hope people are able to really think for themselves and see how poor of an argument you are making against mammograms here.
I do, however, absolutely agree that there needs to be more focus on WHY breast cancer happens. It is certainly on the rise in young women like myself, and often, since we are not yet going for regular mammograms, it is diagnosed in later stages.
Beverly
Why do a toxic mammograms when you can do thermo imaging
Mary
I agree with Lauren. I , too, am breast cancer survivor being diagnosed at 34 years young. After years of exercising, clean eating, and no predisposed family history, I still drew the unlucky penny. Wake up ladies! While all of these lifestyle decisions can certainly help alleviate you from the mental burden that you "did something wrong," cancer can still happen and I'm LIVING proof (thankfully). I credit a skilled team of practitioners who DO care about women, aren't all pro-big pharma and deal with cancer because they care. Sometimes it does just happen and in the end you just need to stop it from metastasizing by any means necessary. I had a double mastectomy and I can now sleep at night. Until you walk a mile in a survivors shoes, which I hope you never have to do, avoid your blame game. Mammograms and early detection DO save lives. I am proof. And shame on you for propagating and supporting an article with such hearsay and rubbish! I hope you never need a cancer center, because eating Crowe tastes bad.
Angela
So do I Mary. My sister is a survivor x 3, breast cancer 5 years ago, cervical cancer at aged 26 and again last year aged 50. She always ate well and took care of herself but the cancer still came and came with a vengeance and almost took her life. I thank God that she was checked regularly because her cancers were so aggressive and spread quickly and doctors were able to save her and I'll be forever grateful that she is still here. Catherine, be thankful that you have been fortunate never to have walked in the shoes of a cancer sufferer/survivor, yes there are are alternatives to a conventional mammogram but it was a conventional mammogram, medicine and a great and vigilant medical team which detected and took care of my sister. Cancer was here before processed food,and medication and even though my sister lived a very healthy lifestyle, the cancer still came. I'm not opposed to finding alternatives way of prevention and treatment but try not to dismiss the conventional way out of hand because one thing I've learned is that Cancer does not discriminate no matter how you live your life, just bear that in mind Catherine and I wish you well.
mel
Cancer lives in an acidic body. alkalize the body with clean green foods. Watch:
https://youtu.be/DgbdNNfotwMlivesan
AnnB
This is a very interesting leaflet from the NHS in the UK which basically says that:
Screening saves about 1 life from breast cancer for every 200 women who are screened. This adds up to about 1,300 lives saved from breast cancer each year in the UK.
Finding cancers that would never have
caused a woman harm
About 3 in every 200 women screened every 3 years from the age of 50 to 70 are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have been found without screening and would never have become life-threatening. This adds up to about 4,000 women each year in the UK who are offered treatment they did not need.
Overall, for every 1 woman who has her life saved from breast cancer, about 3 women are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have become life-threatening.
http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/breastscreen/publications/nhsbsp.pdf
Yolanda
I think the jury is still out on this one, and will be for a long time. It does worry me - the radiation, that is. But what about my friend, who at age 45 developed AGGRESSIVE breast cancer, suddenly. There was no question of nutritional or lifestyle intervention. She was going to die without swift treatment. Our current system of cut, burn, poison seems barbaric, but in some cases, it's simply the best we have. It reminds me of the immunization debate. Truly, immunizations come with risk, but there is so much of emotion in this debate it's hard to get to the truth. The last time I got influenza (and I do live a VERY healthy lifestyle) it kicked me into a nervous breakdown. The "flu shot" is far from perfect, but for many of us, it is the best choice we have right now. I was a young child when the terrible polio epidemic came through our area. I remember how frightened we were and how grateful we were when the vaccine became available. Life is fatal. Some people get sick and are disabled as a result. Some people get sick and die. A lot more of them died younger in previous generations. We once lived very near an old cemetery in the state of Nebraska. It was small. Most of the graves were of children who had perished within days of each other from diphtheria. Nowadays we look on blood letting as barbaric, and someday, I hope we will be able to look at our current cancer treatments as barbaric as well because much better things will have been developed. We each must make our own choices. The first and best is our lifestyle, but there is much more to it than that, and much that we simply do not know. Please be sure to at least do your monthly self-exams.
Allison in Texas
Thank you for your article! I've been mammogram free for three years. This was after the 10th year of an annual fear based scare "routine mammogram". The last straw was when I nearly fainted while being squeezed and threw up after I was released from the machine. Cancer is big business in our area with many hospitals competing against one another. Once I started going to a CORRECTIVE care chiropractor in July of 2010 everything changed. Through re-education with facts, weekly adjustments, better whole food choices, maximizing my oxygen and lean muscle and reducing toxins, my inflammation is gone!! Inflammation is the underlying cause of ALL disease. Hope has been restored to my life knowing I do not have to be a part of the sick care system the US offers.
Sure, we all have cancer cells dormant in our system, but my daily choices keep them there and are not allowed to be expressed. I AM CANCER KILLER by design.
Matthew
That's incredibly ignorant to the point of danger. Inflammation is not the cause of disease, it is a symptom. The problem with today's health care is the uneducated populace; people don't understand what the doctors and scientists know, because our knowledge and understanding of the body is incredibly intricate and complex, constantly growing. The lack of understanding leads to a mistrust, and the mistrust leads to primitivism and regression. "Science is strange and we don't get it, and look some bad things can happen, let's not do it!" Life is terrible sometimes, and when it is, your choices are terrible. There is a snake in South America whose venom will kill you in a matter of mere minutes; if you get bitten in the woods, your options are hack off the limb that got bitten, or die. You won't survive becuase you have good chi, eat organic foods, or exercise regularly. You will die, because it is a potent venom, or you make a hard choice. If you don't understand the science, don't criticize the methods; the problem today isn't the good men and women who are hard at work employing knowledge you don't have to save lives. The problem is superstitious, uneducated conspiracy theorists leading others into dangerous practices for the sake of "not giving in to the system". History is full of those sorts of examples, full of impediments to progress by the suspicious ignorant that cost lives. Don't be the next. Educate yourselves as to the nature of what you face. Learn truth to understand method. And for the love of God, stop spreading misinformation. You'll get some poor innocent killed.
Janine Patching
Your view is your view. You shouldn't discredit others opinions. These debates are about opening people's eyes and minds. I too am a healthcare professional. Just look at the amount of people that die yearly from medication alone. Medicine is not the only way. I believe that our can be helpful in certain Circumstances. Have you watched food matters. It features very qualified oncologists that wouldn't have chemo. Have you read the China study. Again researched by doctors. Lets open our minds a little more. Mammography does not pick up cancer in its very early stages. Thermography however is the way I would go. How about vitamin b17??? Health or illness I should say is the biggest money making business.
carolyn
actually matthew, inflammation is the CAUSE of many chronic diseases and not merely a symptom. even current medical literature says so
as to the south american snake, native peoples know all kinds of antidotes for many such things. the saying "nature always puts the cure near the poison" comes from indigenous peoples. you can criticize as "primitivism" any knowledge that exists outside the confines of the narrow western industrial model but that is your problem and does not invalidate the other wisdoms
and no, i've never had a mammogram and don't ever intend to, yes, cancer has always existed but it was far rarer than it is today. our industrialized system creates cancer, then pats itself on the back for "curing" it and collects money on both ends! nice set up
mel
Watch
https://youtu.be/DgbdNNfotwMlives
Allyson
The chiropractic perspective is very interesting. I never thought of it other than addressing back, or limb pain. I wonder how it works?
A couple of other things to take into consideration where breast cancer is concerned is commercial deodorants and colonics...Colonics - one of the BEST ways to get the "trash" out...
Kaycee
I've had several mammograms -- they DO NOT HURT. My children NURSING on my breasts hurt FAR WORSE than any mammogram. For the love of pete, people! My mammogram saved my life!!!!!!!
Katie
Mine didn't either until 4 - 5 years ago. Now they are excruciatingly painful.
Snoopygirl
Big pharma is a business, and while I am no conspiracy theorist, I believe that all the funding being raised for Breast Cancer and other conditions seems simply to maintain the business rather than find the cure that would put them out of business. I do find it interesting that the one sister in my family to get breast cancer was the one to faithfully get mammograms. Sometimes they would have so much trouble getting a good picture, the tech would retake it again and again. One time she said they did it 17 times in a row. And as others you mentioned, it was mirpcroscopic in size. They cut out a quarter of her breast, gave her radiation and put her on medication for five years to keep it away. The cancer has not returned, which may seem to be a success story. But can I tell you all the rest of the things she now suffers with? She swelled up and became obese from the medication, she developed diabetes from being so obese. She now has a heart problem and high cholesterol and constant trouble with hot flashes, a side effect of the medication she had to take. They also had to put her on other medication to control the hot flashes, which she says only minimalize so them.
I think prevention and lifestyle is key! I myself refuse to have them done as does my mom. The other sister who has had many mammograms has had fibroid tumors and supposed pre cancer tissue removed. They are both a mangled mess with scars and sections of breast removed. While I do realize that there are other factors besides exposure to radiation during a mammogram that can cause cancer and tumors, I am sure left wondering if there wasn't a link for my own sisters. No one else in my family history from generations back ever had breast cancer or breast tumors.
Thank you for being brave and going against the grain by presenting your views. If nothing else it offers the other side of the coin for people to review before making their own choice. As we all know, dr.s "practice" medicine. They certainly do not have all the answers just because they have a degree. Besides, there are too many other factors that could be carcinogenic from toxins in the ground or air we breathe to plane travel or even pesticides. We have know way of knowing why some ate right but still got sick. Anyway, thanks for sharing! And keep preaching clean eating and living!
Catherine
<3 thanks so much for sharing your experience and your kind encouragement! Knowledge is power!
mel
Yes! Hurrah to you, you brave woman! !! Love love love your article.
Gail
Due to my own personal concern about radiation from mammograms, I quit doing them. I had two false positives 7-10 years ago. I have opted instead for MRI's, and have also had a thermography; both are safer choices for me, and I have the support of my doctors. FYI: The MRI's were covered by insurance as I have dense breasts; the thermography is not covered by insurance but is a lot less expensive than an MRI if you don't have insurance.
Patti
I no longer get mammograms but will opt for thermography. Anyone have experience with that?
Adria
Patti,
I just returned from my doctor last week having had my 4th thermography (1 per year). I LOVE THEM.
There is no squeezing, just three photos, plunge your hands in a bag of ice water (no water touches you, just the cold), followed by three more photos.
Research indicates that thermography can find potential cancer spots 8 years before conventional mammography does. It is true that insurance doesn't pay for it .... yet.
Jilly
I would be like to be able to get that if insurance ever pays for it. I am retired and probably cant afford it - i'd have to check on the price to see.
I am used to the mammos and i dont find much discomfort at all, and i'm very large-breasted. The only place it pinches a bit is under the arm.
Tracy
Christiane Northrup, MD on mammograms and thermography from 10/12/10
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiane-northrup/the-best-breast-test-the-_b_752503.html
Mary
Quote:
Medical treatment of cancer includes, “poisoning, cutting & burning” according to my grandfather, who watched his wife die of breast cancer after being strung along by Western medicine for 7 years. I really don’t think leaving the patient worse off then they were prior to toxic treatments and defeminizing procedures are the only acceptable way to treat cancer. What ever happened to “first do no harm?”
Unquote
"Defeminizing"? Really?
I defy anyone to tell me that I am less "feminine" because I only have one breast, or because chemo put me in menopause, and I have less estrogen in my body than I used to. (At 54, I'm relieved that the days of night sweats AND cramps AND periods are finally over.)
"Worse off" after treatment? Really?
I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer a bit over a year ago. I'm still getting treatment (targeted treatments without standard chemo side effects), but I am NOT worse off because of the treatment. I'm worse off from the CANCER--and there's less cancer in my body now than there was a year ago
I was diagnosed at state IV because I DIDN'T go to the doctor and I DIDN'T get mammograms. I do NOT recommend that others be as stupid and neurotic as I.
Margaret
I agree with you. I watched my chiropractor die of stage IV breast cancer and I'm guessing it wasn't diagnosed until it was advanced, because she didn't believe in getting mammograms. She felt they caused breast cancer. She did not do any conventional treatment and she died. I know people in the holistic health field (which I am also in) believe that conventional cancer treatment is totally bad and just harms people, but I know of numerous people who got conventional treatment and are alive many years later, often decades later, while I know of a couple of people that only did holistic treatment and they died. I really don't think conventional treatment was invented just to make money and harm people. I think it was invented because natural treatment doesn't always work.
Catherine
Thanks Mary for your comment, but like I said this is just my personal opinion, based on my own experiences and perspective. You are entitled to yours as well.
There are plenty of other diagnostic techniques that should be looked into for early detection: self exams (knowing your body), thermography breast screening, and (possibly) blood testing.
Catherine
lauramae
I have no education in medicine. I am 51 with two grown children. I have never had a mammogram. It has been years since my last gynec. exam. At age 37 my sister died of colon back in 1987. My stepmother has survived breast cancer not once but twice in her 70+ years.
I choose not to go for mammograms and gynec exams. It is my personal choice; to not have these exams. For me its mostly the anticipated discomfort of these exams; and expense. As a woman I am in tune with how I feel; eat, and sleep. I hope to never get cancer and if I do; I am not sure if I would even be brave enough or strong enough to go through all the medical processes to rid my body of it. Thank you for posting these facts. Many times I have received very, very negative feedback from friends and family about my choice. I have even been called stupid! Maybe its because I saw my sister fight so hard and lose. I still hear her gasping for air with a respirator trying to talk at the end. I was only 24 then...we all have our reasons.
Jilly
Unfortunately if you get any terminal disease you will suffer and die with it whether you choose treatment or not. Yes, treatments usually let you live longer, and sometimes cause distress, but often you can be cured and live a long and happy life (if you are a happy person).
Not choosing to get medical treatments doesnt mean you wont suffer any less with any disease.
My sister got breast cancer first when she was about 42 and i thank God she got many treatments since them, because i've had her with me as my best friend. She has also traveled the world in retirement now, as she is 65 and was cancer-free for many years. She is not now (it returned after a long break), but i certainly dont believe in blaming a person for their own cancer as the poster of the original Blog post seems to. Many people even get lung cancer who have never smoked.
Yes, we are entitled to our own opinion, just as the Blogger believes we can heal ourselves, many believe that prayer heals. I would rather try a bit of all of it - personally - if i had a serious disease. The medical community (and others) do not know everything that causes cancer, and i dont agree with ALL the medical "cures." But with the 7-plus family members i have who had breast cancer, i started getting a mammo in my 30's, and have never had a false-positive reading - which i'd still much rather deal with than cancer. (We should all say no to dental xrays every 6 mos. also, BTW.)
ThinkBeyondThePink
I wish there were "like" buttons! There are a lot of comments I would like to applaud.
As a breast cancer survivor, who went through many mammos that still missed my cancer, I can say that I will NEVER trust in one again. I found my own tumor, when it got large enough to palpate, by following my own intuition that something was wrong. THAT is what saved my life. Woman need to listen to their bodies.
I LOVE getting themograms and if anyone thinks that radiation is not harmful, I would be happy to show them the damage all that radiation did to my breast. It is still "hot" on my therms and it has been 6 years! I have since become an activist, hoping that if we can get more women to demand thermography, we can bring back the insurance code that the mammography industry, backed by a lot of pink bucks were able to get rescinded after a very poorly run "study" they ran. Only if more women demand it, will we get it back. If other women want to still do the smash and burn, go ahead. I just think we should be told the truth about thermography and given the choice.
If anyone wants to get involved in my Think Beyond Pink! campaign, join us on facebook, and check out some of the info I have been archiving at preventcanswers.org. I do not make any money on these sites. I just want to help others find information that I had to dig deeply for. Join in the conversation!
MB
I have watched many people suffer with cancer and die. Most of them family members but I have also worked as a caregiver for elderly and disabled people. My personal experiences have taught me that people with later stages of cancer are worse off in getting aggressive treatments like radiation and chemo. My grandfather was 74 and diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. The radiation burned his esophagus so severely that he could no longer swallow. He died within 4mo of being diagnosed. I have no doubt that he would have lived longer without the treatment. My uncle almost died from the chemo and eventually halted his treatments and chose his own path. He lived four years longer than expected. My own personal past of sexual abuse at the hands of a doctor make invasive exams an impossibility for me. I simply cannot handle the stress and anxiety they cause. Most doctors won't sedate you even with a recommendation from a therapist. As someone said previously---we all have our reasons...
Martina
My my.....we all learned in school that the all mighty powerful Sun is the biggest source of radiation and we r exposed to it every singe day......getting a mere mamogram is the least we can do.....healthy diet and exercise should be the mantra for everyone.......cancer is much easier to prevent than cure!!
Geri
Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells. You cannot always prevent it, no matter how healthy you eat. There is MUCH more to cancer than nutrition. To minimize that fact is to do a disservice to people who lack knowledge and are reading this site.
Love
Catherine, I do think this is a a heavy article to write from opinion- While I don't believe in the necessity of routine mammograms - I would like to ask you a simple question :
What would you do if you felt a lump in your breast? If you were in your 30's, a mother of little children who you could not imagine not watching them grow up or you just met your beautiful husband and just began your life together. What would you do? Would you not get a mammogram, lets say the thermography is not totally available where you live. I am just curious -
Annie
While I agree with some of your sentiments, I came away feeling like you are sticking your head in the sand. If the idea of a mammogram offends you so much, please sign the disclaimer to not ask for medical treatment when your breast cancer is so advanced that you have secondary cancers all through your body. Ignorance can only get you so far...
Catherine
I don't know about head in the sand, but feet in the sand sounds great! I'd love a vacation to the beach 🙂
Charlotte
Thank you for this article, which I will gladly share on my Facebook page! Information and openly shared opinions like this are vital to health freedom and to maintain a discussion that is important for us all, whether we agree or disagree. Despite the cries of 'this is dangerous and irresponsible' and the like, there is no danger in being fully informed and seeking information and view points from a variety of sources. Beyond any initial confusion as information we might discover challenges what we thought we know/knew to be true, information is empowerment, autonomy and liberty. Knowledge and awareness are what allows us to maintain the incredible freedom we experience in this time in history. Those who would deny the free flow of information and freedom of speech are far more dangerous to a free society, in my opinion. There is certainly no right vs. wrong in matters such as that discussed here, only what is right or wrong for us as the unique individuals we are. I urge you to all please make whatever decisions concerning your health are right for you according to your unique risk assessments and tolerances, and from your own unique world view and then, with grace and humility, allow others to do the same.
Janine Patching
Well done. I completely agree. I work as a health professional with palliative patients so work with cancer on a daily basis so believe me I see all sides of the coin. Personally I would not have chemo or mammograms. I would treat myself in a multitide of ways. Whoever these people are who are so adamant that nutrition and natural ways of curing disease are to be forbidden are not only misguided. They are ignorant and frankly very dangerous.
sarah murphy
While I agree that mammograms are not the be all and end all of breast cancer detection, and that a healthy lifestyle and self examination - being intimate with the workings of one's own body, is essential to health, I do want to point out that any research can be skewed to reflect anything.
Saying that mammograms are ineffective, when you consider that many women refuse to have them at all, and so many who do have them wiggle and squirm, whine and moan, then never show up for the follow up appointments if it is suggested a 2nd mammo be done, or further investigation, is an errant correlation. Granted, I am neither a doctor, nor a research scientist, but even to my little brain, the conclusions drawn seem a bit extreme.
Granted, there are misses in everything. A pap smear only detects abnormal cells in the tested area. Some doctors make sure your pap is NEVER uncomfortable, and some of them miss cell changes till it is too late for non-radical treatment. While your mammogram should not "Hurt", done correctly, it's not comparable to getting a spa treatment.
If I were looking to persuade women of the uselessness of some preventative or diagnostic procedure, I would pick a study that gave real numbers that were convincing. For instance, if the study concluded that of 100 breast cancer patients with advanced stage cancers, 86 had had mammograms annually and done self exams monthly, and 75 had been undetected until the cancer was late stage, I would re-think it - but I'd also be looking for some new diagnostic tool, as a patient, or as a care provider.
While I firmly believe that it is YOUR body and YOUR choice, I do think it is irresponsible to try to persuade others that your choice should be their choice, based on a weak study, at best. Implying that consumption of a certain diet will protect you from all disease is no more than selling snake oil.
That's my opinion.
BlopsMaq
The cited Dr. Peat in this article also wrote a foreword to a recently released ebook, "The Mammogram Myth: The Independent Investigation Of Mammography The Medical Profession Doesn't Want You To Know About" by Rolf Hefti, that discusses the research on mammograms, demonstrating convincingly that much of what the medical profession tells women is little more than propaganda than sound science.
Catherine
Thanks Fiona!
Adding it to my reading list!
Donna
I work as a Mammography technologist and also as a CMA at a Cancer Center. By printing articles like this you are stating your opinion. Along with having the freedom to state your opinions also comes a responsibility. What you are saying is wrong. Mammograms may not be perfect but early detection DOES save lives! So does having a mastectomy and knowing your families cancer history. The unfortunate thing here is that innocent women without proper education are listening to you by reading your blog. In trying to help them with your opinion, in actuality you are hurting them by trying to deter them from taking advantage of what we have to offer. Proper nutrition, limited alcohol intake are all factors in promoting good health, but it is not the only thing. You are as damaging as the poor people out there who don't and won't vaccinate their children. By doing this you are putting EVERYONE at risk! You really should keep your opinions to your self. Your opinions as far as I can see do little to help anyone.
Catherine
Thanks for sharing your opinion Donna. Please respect everyone's right to their own opinion. Differences in opinion is what makes a valuable discussion and encourages further learning.
What I find most dangerous is blindly believing everything we are told in "mainstream media" (whether it's about nutrition, medicine, etc). Money talks in today's world, and their motives usually do not have our best interests in mind.
Janine Patching
Oh my. Here we go again. There are people out there who's lives have been damaged irreparably by certain ingredients in vaccinations. Most parents who choose not to vaccinate their children with certain vaccines are not poor! Or uneducated. They want the best for v their children and do not blindly follow pharmaceulical led practices. As a health care professional you would know that many drugs and vaccines are barely tested and many of our beautiful and priceless children are no more than Guinea pigs. Open your eyes and mind.
Charmyr
This was very interesting for me to read -- and pass on to my 76 yo mother who is a 30+ year breast cancer survivor (double mastectomy). She would freak out if I ever told her that I didn't "believe" in getting mammograms. I've been getting them since I was 35, and so far so good. Regardless of my other courses of action (diet, exercise, mindfulness, reduced stress), I will always remember her advice to me: "Cancer is Catholic not Protestant. No amount healthy living or good deeds will spare you. Don't be stupid - use the tools at your disposal." And so I shall.
Caro
Some of what you say is right, Catherine. Mammograms are only one way of diagnosing bc, and they're not perfect. And chemo is often overused. After having bc surgery myself, in Australia, my surgeon told me that if I had been diagnosed in the USA, they would have suggested chemo, and in Europe, they would have told me hormonal treatment was enough. I chose to be European!
Having said that - I would love to think that good nutrition and a good chiropractitioner could prevent bc. However, I'm afraid the disease is complex. Sometimes there are genetic causes, sometimes obesity contributes. Dense, firm breasts are a risk factor (as I was told on the day of my diagnosis - not that there was anything I could have done about this!). If you want to cut your risk, it's generally accepted that cutting back on alcohol, increasing exercise and staying slim are good ways to start. And if you have a higher than average risk, regular mammograms could possibly save your life.
Michelle
I dreaded getting my first mammogram this year. I put it off as long as I possibly could. I saw the bruises my mother suffered getting hers. But it bit the bullet and got it. The tech reading the mammogram decided I needed a second one, even though I explained that due to a severe gland infection during my early teens what he was seeing was scar tissue. I succumbed and had the second one. But when he insisted I needed quarterly exams I completely balked. I went online and found much of the research you have listed here. I discussed the issue with my family doctor, including the fact that there is absolutely no history of breast cancer in my family. My family doctor requested the scans and during a follow-up visit with him, he agreed with me that what the tech was seeing was scar tissue and not any kind of indication of possible breast cancer. We mutually decided I would not need to ever go back for another mammogram. I like having a doctor that listens to my concerns.
Wendy
Fascinating. What a range of responses. I was glad to read your opinion, Catherine, I found your perspective interesting. I'm 57 and have never had a mammogram, nor do I intend to. I participate in the AMA as little as possible. I'm not overly concerned about my health, but that's probably because I'm really healthy! I do pay attention to what I eat, there is a direct correlation to how I feel. I don't know how I would react to a diagnosis of cancer, I've never had one. But I have a feeling I wouldn't opt for the treatments that are available. The leading cause of death is too much living. I'd rather let my body/mind run it's course. I lie to people when they ask me if I've had a mammogram, I don't want to engage in a conversation where my sanity is questioned and feel like I have to defend myself. It's nice to know I'm not alone. Thanks for exposing yourself to some wacked-out responses, and thanks to those willing to speak for the minority.
Catherine
Thanks Wendy!
Stream Source
We must be soul twins, Wendy.
To Catherine, because of anticipated medical backlash, this is for the most part why I never publicly voice these insights - many of which I feel you read from my heart. You are brave!
Insight is exactly what this is... it's inexplicable knowing and guidance that cannot be rationally understood. So I feel the frustration of those who are enraged by this perspective. If you are not inclined to understand metaphysics and healing and the movement to create new paradigms of thought, this will strike you as mad. For those who do, we must persevere. For me, that means risking illness or death by standing strong, following my heart.
We all have so much fear buried in our subconscious that even once we break this barrier to speak of our 'knowing' what's buried in the dark recesses of our mind could have an effect on our biology, even without conscious permission.
An important facet of this discussion. Fear of death. If we desperately cling to this life as all there is, not having experienced the knowing of 'more' for whatever 'more' experience we may have had. Be it one instant of realization or having been blessed to be more consistently seated within the cloud of being 'more' than this flesh. Or maybe we've yet to experience but we have an inkling of it and so seek it with every breath.
Who wants to be chained to this fear of disease and death? That was the turning point for me. Even after many examples of this disease in my family - including my mother. When I realized the depth of my fear and that I felt weak seeking 'testing' - and in one case 'over-testing'. I felt I was surrendering my power to a stranger who would determine my fate by virtue of his or her well intended, but limited knowledge of how my body and mind works. Who can know my body better than I know it?
All of these alternative perceptions shared here mingle and conspire - asking us to be brave. Not unlike adventure seekers who are called to climb great mountains. When asked why, they say because it is there and they must - it is a calling. Most will not choose this but don't question their risky choices. Why is this different?
Come to know your body and follow your heart. What may have started out of pure intent has gone bad. Now we are taught only the doctor knows best - our inner knowing - an inherent gift to each one of us has been relegated to a trifle. Foolishness and magical thinking. We do not teach our children of intuition or that anything is 'sacred'. The mystics of the ages knew as did our ancient ancestors.
If you are not in touch with this part of you GO TO THE DOCTOR! Please, to do otherwise is naive and foolish. For those who do know the metaphysical and are willing to face what others perceive to be 'risk' then let us lead the way. Because of what we choose, maybe one day we will all understand in the highest way what was meant by the passage in scripture, "Physician, heal thyself!"
janine
how absolutely beautifully put. no more comments needed...bless you xxx
Laine
And with that I am going to save this comment and stop reading. nothing more needs to be said. You captured it all 🙂 Thank you.
Laura
I tell many many women of my acquaintance and my friends about thermography testing and my results. There is breast cancer in my close family. I watched my Mother die of it. However, mammograms were and are not going to catch any cancer I get. I have dense breasts so mammograms can't see anything in there. So, since conventional medicine has nothing to help me prevent breast cancer, I did research myself. I found out about estrogen dominance. I found out my liver wasn't doing the best job metabolizing estrogen. I had a thermogram and found out I had vascular growth in one breast and hot estrogen spots in both breasts. i began to do Lymphatic breast massage. I changed my diet to remove inflammatory foods. I started getting more nutrients by juicing and from supplements. I read about angiogenisis and it's role in tumor formation. I did emotional work and writing to understand some of the underlying fear and anger in the women of many generations of my family including myself. And you know what? Things improved. My next scan was normal. The vascularity in my breast was gone. The estrogen hot areas were greatly reduced. Perhaps there are those who don't think much of these results, but for me they meant much more than my mammogram results. I might never known to do all the work I did to improve my health and the health of my breasts if I had chosen to go with what my mammograms told me. See the mammograms told me I was ok. These other tests suggested I had work to do if I didn't want to someday get breast cancer. So don't tell me that mammogram is the gold standard. It's just the conventional standard. There is more we can do for ourselves, and more we should do. I agree with the author. I will not be getting any more mammograms, but I will be taking care of my body so I can help my body prevent cancer. I will also continue to educate myself and figure out what I personally need to do to prevent cancer. I take responsibility for that. 100%
Faye
Laura .. I got a thermography and had results similar to yours... Can u please give me some tips on how to improve ?..I'm exercising, taking iodine etc... Thank you so much!.
Kathleen Pagan
On one hand medicine needs to have a vast population of patients to assess and treat diseases. My father died during bypass surgery in 1975 when it was still experimental surgery and now those surgeries are almost routine! On the other hand exposing oneself to radiation that causes cancer in order to detect cancer seems batsh*t crazy!!! My preference is to focus on health rather than disease... I prefer Breast Health Month to Breast Cancer Awareness Month... I don't smoke, drink, and eat the way my father did and try to aid my overall health with exercise and healthy eating... also since I don't have a family history of breast cancer I had a baseline mammogram at 35 with a second one at 40, so that if there are concerns regarding my breasts a record exists that shows what my "normal" breasts looked like so they can compare. I also know that my decision has consequences that I must bear personally since early detection would not be a reality for me and also I won't be part of the population that helps to assess breast cancer in general... and I am OK with it!!
donna
Thank you for this article. I am 54 and I have never had a mammogram. I really hate when people look at me like I am foolish or ignorant but I just can't see subjecting myself to that. I feel very in tune with my body and if I ever had a doubt, perhaps I would consider one as some kind of "second opinion" but so far it has never felt right.
Chris Nagy
Here is a talk I give discussing the prevention of Breast Cancer -
Keeping A Breast - Natural Ways to Prevent Breast Cancer
Vita @ VitaLivesFree
Great article! I can't believe what a range of responses it's generated. I'm certainly going to share it on my Facebook and Google+. Well done for being brave enough to express your opinion! There should be more people like you. Just wanted to send you my support.
Ann
A routine mammogram caught early stage breast cancer in me. Without hesitation, I had a bilateral mastectomy. I chose to do this because I have two teenage children and wanted to make sure I did what would give me the best chance of being around for them. I had my husbands full support! When the pathology came back for the "good breast", there was evidence of a maker for a more aggressive breast cancer. I was told I had dodged a landline that would have developed in the next few years. I have absolutely no regrets what so ever and I am two and a half years out from my mastectomy.
I post this only to remind everyone that there are many sides to the breast cancer discussion. I am grateful for mammography and the surgical options I had available to me. Please know I would never criticize anyone for choosing and alternative. A woman has to do what she feels is best for her and her family.
Jessica
I couldn't agree more with this article and have been saying this same thing for years.Cancer is not a disease, it's your body's way of telling you something is wrong. Your body produces cancer cells all the time you just don't know it because the cells are usually eradicated by the bodies own defenses. Mainstream cancer treatment only suppresses the body's immunity/ability to heal itself further and causes the body to work that much harder to survive. Cutting parts out and poisoning the body is not a solution - it's barbaric and defies common sense in my opinion. I too had a loved one pass from cancer when I was little. She had a mastectomy, chemo and radiation which gave her leukemia (it is a side effect of those treatments). Her immunity was so low that she caught every virus under the sun and ultimately died from a BRAIN virus. She very quickly lost her ability to function at all - to walk, talk or recognize her loved ones. What a horrible, horrible way to go. There are TONS of natural cures from cancer but you won't hear that from your doctor. Unfortunately, cancer is a BILLION dollar industry and a cure is not what they are looking for. If you want to prevent cancer, do yourself a favor by becoming your own health advocate and learning all you can about the body and holistic healing remedies. Our bodies have an amazing ability to heal if given the proper tools to do so.
Allyson
AMEN!! I agree with you TEN THOUSAND percent, Jessica!
Gail
Very well said, Jessica....I couldn't have stated it better!
Ann Mcreynolds
It seems as if the writer of this article is more upset over treatment measures than the mammogram it's self. A mammogram saved my daughters life as well as my Mother...My daughters spot was so small the radiologist missed it but a tech found it. By the time surgery was scheduled and it was removed it was stage 4 and well into the nodes in the entire area. We feel so blessed she had the mammogram or she would not be here today.
Stephanie @ Whole Health Dork
As an oncology clinical research coordinator, I have to disagree with some of what you've said. I have seen many instances where mammograms and traditional medicine were the difference between life and death for many women. It's a catch-22, though. As much as they save lives, they sometimes cause us to overtreat.
I have seen us overtreat some cancers, but this was at the patient's request. We always defer to the patient. If the patient doesn't want treatment, or wants less agressive treatment than the doctor recommends, that is always the patient's right. Our doctors are very cognizant of not overtreating, as that is on them at the end of the day. They lie awake at night thinking about their patients and whether they're doing the right thing. I wouldn't wish that kind of stress on anyone. They're only human and they do the best that they can with the knowledge they have.
I also agree that we need to put more focus on prevention. It seems easier to prevent cancer than to treat it. I believe a lot of things that will prevent cancer will also prevent many other diseases, so that's a win-win situation.
There are some current prevention trials, but it's hard to prove causation vs. proving whether or not a cancer treatment works. The good thing is that our treatments are getting less toxic over time. Radiation is being shortened for many cancers and new targeted therapies only go after certain parts of the body instead of attacking the entire body.
I wish we could offer more complementary therapies to go along with treatment, but until insurance pays for some of that, most of our patient population will not be able to afford that. It's all a bit of a mess that needs tidying in many different places.
Catherine
Thanks Stephanie for joining the conversation!
Re: overtreatment, I assume most patients make a choice out of fear, and not based on a well rounded understanding of alternatives? What do you think?
Catherine
Julieg
I used to get regular mammograms and then started reading alternative research and articles. I also had goiter, a condition of the thyroid brought on by lack of iodine in the diet. We don't get enough iodine from salt. I actually did not have either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism despite the goiter. I read a doctor's book on iodine and the thyroid and made my own decision to self treat with iodine as instructed in the book (though of course the book recommends seeing a doctor who believes in iodine, they are all taught not to push natural). I would go to the doctor who wrote the book if I were close enough. My point is that iodine is stored not only in the thyroid but also in the breast and in the uterus, so when I had a hysterectomy, this removed a lot of my iodine storage and production leaving me more susceptible to iodine depleted illnesses and iodine is essential for preventing cancer because it is one of the elements that helps tell a cell that its time to die. Therefore, in my humble opinion, women who have hysterectomies are more likely to become hypothyroid and develop iodine - deficient related diseases or cancer. I am a medical transcriptionist and a lot of the women treated for thyroid issues have had hysterectomies. The good news is that my goiter has slowly gone away and I am not going to radiate my breasts to check them for cancer and possibly cause it. For me and my research, its not worth the risk. Thanks for your opinion that gets people talking about this important issue and hopefully researching it for themselves!
Ica
Hi Julieg,
I find your post very interesting. Is there a way we can connect to chat more about the thyroid issue you had and your cure?? I have hypothyroidism (slow) and have been on meds for the past 18 years., no changes what so ever. Now, I am almost 38 and at the point of making a decision to go for a mammogram or not as a preventative measure. My family doc is sending me for a routine check up due to a high risk family history. The more I read on this the more confused I am. I am pro health options but at he same time I don't want to risk my life... so confused. Please help if you can. Thank you! -Ica
Cheryl
I had breast cancer which I found through self-examination and later confirmed with mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy (in that order). After much 'quick' research, I chose lumpectomy followed by radiation. Since the surgery/treatment, I have continued to do research and know from my own experience how I feel now. If I had it to do over, I would have had the surgery but not the radiation which has continued to have side effects. I am so sorry I had it done, but the diagnosis of cancer comes with great urgency, and the process is over before you've caught your breathe. I have also had mammograms since, but hate to have them because of the radiation exposure. AND....I have learned that they are REALLY ineffective if you've had a lumpectomy because of the scar tissue! Other preventative measures would be better, but insurance doesn't usually pay for them until a diagnosis. I do believe women should have mammograms until something better is available and paid for by insurance companies, though. For deep-seated cancers, mammograms are all we have! They do save lives through early detection. Period.
Christi
I AGREE 100%! Thank you for bringing this to the mainstream!!!!!!!
Lisa G
I love this article. I repect the views of others but it seems every time I tell people how I feel I get ridiculed. I lost a young aunt and my grandmother to breast cancer and my mom is a breast cancer survivor. Breast cancer used to be one of my biggest fears, but I have learned the stress from the fear can be a contributor to cancer itself. So, I have learned to meditate, eat healthy, and exercise. While this is no gurantee that I will never get cancer, it makes me feel better and less stressed. I also know if I ever found that I had cancer I would choose The Gerson Therapy, something I would have to go to mexico for, which I find unfair.
For now, if I need a scan I will choose thermography. I also massage my own breasts to keep the fluids moving in the lymph system.
I have studied holistic nutrition and plan to keep this article in my office. I know that disease cannot survive in an akaline envirionment. The acidic diet of most is what feeds the disease because it thrives on our Standard American Diet.
I feel everyone should fight disease their own way, but if you try an akalizing diet with exercise just pay attention to how your body feels. Your body will tell you everything you need to know. Listen to it.
I will always stand for treating the body as a whole and not treating just a symptom. It is all connected.
Elisabeth Gibson
Mammography is not the best option for everyone. I appreciate that this article is about a personal decision to engage in health options that don't include mammography, which is, a one-size-fits-all option. I'm 51, and I've had several mammograms over the past ten years. Each time, I was told that my breast tissue was too dense to see much of anything, but it was recommended that I return for another because, frankly, that is the only option the mainstream medical community provides. The last time I subjected myself to a mammogram, I was told that there had been a "change" from previous images. I returned for a second set of images three very long weeks later. I got into the gown and sat in the waiting room only to be told I could get dressed and leave as the Specialist had made a mistake. There was no change; he compared the images and found that they were actually the same. Of course, I was asked to pay my copay on the way out. When I return to prevention, I'll be choosing Thermagraphy. That is my personal choice.
Kristen
We each have to make our own decisions about this, based on our individual lifestyles, our personal and family risk factors and our own research. You might want to look into the publications of Dr. Peter Goetzsche, a Danish research physician affiliated with the Cochrane Collaboration (an international organization dedicated to the study and evaluation of the effectiveness of treatments in health care) and advisor to the Danish health care system. He's considered a bit of an iconoclast for even suggesting that screening mammograms may not be all they're cracked up to be. He was one of the first to do so and he is certainly the most respected by the medical community here and abroad to question the usefulness of screening mammograms. He may have been a contributor to some of the references listed above. He has stated that he believes that screening mammograms are too expensive for far too little benefit (and in some cases, could even cause harm) for most women and he has advised his own wife that she should forgo having them. Personally, I have no doubt that his research is sound, but again, each of us has to make her own choice. Disclosure: Quite a few years ago I spent two years working for the Cochrane Collaboration (in a different capacity - nothing to do with breast health) and I still try to keep up with their work from time to time.
Cynthia
I choose life over death. I think there is a happy medium here. My mother leads a VERY HEALTHY lifestyle and keeps herself informed as to when to use western medicine and when to do something else. She has just turned 80. A couple years ago a mammogram found cancer in her breast. It is not the kind that spreads to other organs, but could reoccur in her breast. She had it surgically removed in outpatient surgery, but refused chemo and radiation. She takes a gazillion supplements each day, follows a vegan diet and does not consume gluten. She is one of the smartest people I know.
Elizabeth (Aust)
I agree with most of your comment.
I don't have mammograms either, or clinical breast exams or routine pelvic exams or pap testing, all informed decisions based on the best evidence. I've found the "information" they provide to women to be unreliable. (to put it politely)
I've always found it concerning that women are just expected to file in as directed like ignorant sheep and many women are even coerced into testing. (you need a pap test or can't have the Pill, this is like saying a man can't have Viagra unless he has a colonoscopy) ALL cancer screening is elective and can never be "required" for anything. Informed consent is our legal right.
I believe a lot of women's healthcare is anything but, it's a area that does not respect our right to choose and it's loaded with vested and political interests.
The best summary of the evidence on breast screening is found at the Nordic Cochrane Institute website, they're an independent, not-for-profit medical research group. Their first report was released over 10 years ago now. The evidence is not good. Over-diagnosis: about 50% of screen detected breast cancers are over-diagnosed and any benefit of screening is wiped away by those who die from heart attacks and lung cancer after treatments, so the risks exceed any benefit. Screening leads to more mastectomies, not fewer and the fall in the death rate is mostly about better treatments, not screening. You reduce the risk of a breast cancer diagnosis by one-third if you DON'T screen, thanks to over-diagnosis.
It's harder to find the evidence with cervical screening, the screening "story" is so often accepted as the evidence. I found it interesting to compare our program with those found in the Netherlands and Finland. America, Australia and a few others have ignored the evidence in favour of profitable excess, this just harms women. Since the 1960s the Finns have had a 7 pap test program, 5 yearly from 30 to 60, they have the lowest rates of cc in the world and refer far fewer women for biopsies and "treatments". Australia "treats" more than 10 times the number of women. We seriously over-screen women, maximizing risk for no additional benefit to women. (over-screening = more false positives) Our over-treatment rates are hidden and huge. Women here are still urged to have an absurd and harmful 26 (or more) pap tests from age 18 (some start even earlier) to age 70. This is BAD medical advice.
Now we see the Dutch about to scrap population pap testing, a burden for the vast majority of women who can never benefit, but can be harmed. The new program is 5 HPV primary tests, or women can self-test with the Delphi Screener, at ages 30,35,40,50 and 60 and ONLY the roughly 5% who are HPV+ will be offered a 5 yearly pap test. (until they clear the virus)
Those HPV- and no longer sexually active or confidently monogamous might choose to stop all further testing. MOST women are having unnecessary pap testing, biopsies and "treatments".
This program will save more lives and takes most women out of pap testing and harms way. Over-treatment rates will fall (they would plummet here with our huge over-treatment rates) so fewer women with damage to the cervix, so fewer miscarriages, premature babies, infertility, the need for c-sections or cervical cerclage etc. This program will also, save a fortune, funds that could be diverted into other neglected areas like mental health and heart disease.
I agree, we only have one body, we need to protect it from medical abuse and excess and from non-evidence based screening. Informed consent matters and yes, we can say no.
Ruth Telford
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. My advice is to do your own homework. Consult with your own physician or get a new one and discuss the current diagnostic and treatment options with him or her. As in most situations what will work for you and give you a sense of confidence is personal. My own process is self-exams, annual MD manual exams and yearly mammograms. Having recently moved to another part of the country I have a new family physician and he concurs with my decision but he gave me all the scoop on the new thinking of prevention and treatment. He also really surprised me when he asked me if I knew what the biggest killer of women is at the moment and it is 'lung cancer'. We are making great strides in survival of breast cancer. As with anything else, let's be informed consumers.
Ruth Telford, RN Lake Wylie, SC.
Junnie
Prevention is always the aim for all health concerns. As far as refusing to get a mammogram, I guess it all depends on what you're okay with dying from.
Allyson Turner
Yeah, like the radiation you get from a mamogram...Seriously. They're like something from medieval times. It's the 21st century. I say release the technology that our tax dollars have been spent on and get us up to speed.
Carron
You are my hero. I think exactly what you have written, every day. Diagnosed with a lovely collection of auto immune diseases as a child, treated with radio active iodine as a teen, I have no desire to play guinea pig for Western medicine. I would never make the choice to be treated. I knew a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer in the 80's and she lived until 2007. Very healthy and active, made good food choices, passed away at 76. I have moved my family back to whole milk and I encourage them to eat butter. Lots of healthy bone based soups. Like I said, you are my hero.
Therese
I am absolutely appalled and shocked by this article. As a fellow NTP I must say this it is both irresponsible and out of your field of practice to give medical advice of this sort. Someone might read this article, take your advice as "professional" and decide not to get a mammogram that could save their life! How could you live with yourself. This is embarrassing and unprofessional.
Catherine
Hi Therese,
Maybe you misunderstood the intention of my article, I am not "giving medical advice" simply sharing my own opinion. That's why I included a disclaimer at the top of my article:
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion, and I am not suggesting anyone follow suit. I’m simply sharing what is right for me and why.
Everyone is responsible for their own opinions and decisions.
Abundantly,
Catherine
Mybody
Catherine, you live in a free country. You go ahead and express your opinion all you want! Im thankful i can read and respond to it 🙂
Kelly
I strongly disagree with this article. I'm 48 and at age 44, a mammogram saved my life. Without the mammo, my cancer wouldn't have been found until it was too late.
John
Hi,Switzerland is deciding to scrap mammogram testing now,they believe that's it's doing more harm than good and that is not done much for breast cancer rates since it was introduced.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/823781
Meegan
I was one person who had a false positive, but because I eat well I handled the stress like a champ & am still alive to tell the tale. Sorry but this post is more maddening then insightful.
Allyson Turner
I think this has been a brilliant post. Although I agree, it has been most maddening for me as well in realizing all the people who are still brain washed by the evils of the AMA. I'm 55 and have endured numerous surgeries that resulted in gland and organ loss as a child (that I would of course, not need anyway). Turns out, I did need them and as such, will not step foot near an MD except in the case, god forbid, of a broken bone, or stitches. That said, I think Catherine's opinions are well researched and articulated, and having blazed this (health) trail for so many years by myself, I'm thrilled that young, intelligent people are bringing the truth of health back into the light for us ...Because if you think you're going to get that from any pharma/medical doctor, you really need to think again.
Catherine
Thanks Allyson for the kind words and for joining the discussion!
Abundantly,
Catherine
Sharon McDonald
I LOVED this article! Well said, really! I was diagnosed with DCIS Instu Dec. 2013. My mammogram in June 2013 was 100% CLEAR. In fact, the doctors said to me, as does most of the research states that DCIS not usually detected UNLESS it is a tumor, and does not respond to Chemo OR Radiation...... Very interesting to me. In a day and age when we are making sooo much progress, we simply do not have a way to MONITOR this type of cancer, so it IS cut out and that IS the only way to monitor it.
Because my particular diagnosis was aggressive and comedial, I chose to have a double mastectomy at 43, simply because we have a 5 year old and 4 other kids up to 17-years old. My gut told me that if i did not have surgery I would regret my choice. My type was sneaky and was headed to my spleen and liver. Was that what I wanted? NO WAY! I teach natural solutions---- alternative ways of helping self emotionally, physically and mentally. YIKES!
I appreciate your thought and all you said--- SOOOO needful to have this type of informed awareness!
Thanks!
Sherrie
am 68....never had a mammogram and never will get one. cancer is overdiagnosed, over-treated....fear mongering.
Julie Harris
I see and hear your point. I too was one of those who believed to "not get an mammogram" . I don't think we should get one every year. I see billboards that say "Don't forget to get your yearly squeeze" I also see major advertisements on Flu Shots...I am not a big of fan of Flu Shots too. I'm 48 and getting my first one in eight days...I will let you know my outcome. I went to see a doctor about an unusual lump on my sternum. Being that my father had cancer and 14 out of 15 of my mother's brothers and sister have died of cancer I thought "I should go see a doctor about this lump". The doc checked my lump, and my breast.My chest e-rays was clear, my ultra sound on my lump, showed the mass, but not attached to the bone, good news for me, but I have to get an biopsy on the lump now. The doc recommended me to have a mammogram screening. I said okay it will be my first, as I was scheduling my appt date, I was informed that I was getting a "full diagnostic screening, due to findings from my breast examination" well I did not know that there was two types of screenings......I don't go to doctors, I don't have insurance......this really bothers me, but whatever the outcome, I will face it "Naturally in healing process". I saved this blog site to my bookmarks, and will post a reply to this. No body in my family knows that I went to the doctor, I don't like to bother those that like to worry and create stress on the unknown, I believe to deal with things as they arise. I will write to you later -IWWTY
http://nutribalanceyourwaytohealth.wordpress.com/
Allyson Turner
Try some Frankincense essential oil Not saying that it will work, but you have absolutely nothing to lose.
Mybody
Great article and discussion. For me, medical professionals can debate this all they want, they can site all the studies they want, it doesn't matter! I make my own health decisions, its my body!!!. I use prevention, self exams and thermography. If something serious comes up, i will follow up with ultrasound. I will never subject myself to a mammogram. In twenty years woman will look back and wonder what the hell we were thinking traumatizing our breasts like that, and exposing them to radiation unnecessarily as a screening tool. My body. My choice.
carolyn
i'm happy that this discussion is still open. i read every single comment and want to put in my own two sense
1) to those who said that catherine is not a doctor and is therefore not entitled to have a personal opinion about her own body- poppycock! the medical profession loves to keep us all enslaved in ignorance. who knows more about our own bodies than ourselves. all those old wife's tales that arrogant doctors dismissed? well, it turns out mother did know best about a lot of things
doctors are generally 18 years behind research. like any labor union, they want to protect their income stream by keeping outsiders out! sure, now you can read about leaky gut and the microbiome in the NYTimes. i was diagnosed with it in 2000 by an alternative doctor. she cured my asthma symptoms with diet and was driven out of business by the state insurance board. i watched them sue her out of existence. why? she didn't even accept insurance. her patients paid out of pocket, then submitted the forms and got reimbursed for whatever small amount the insurance would cover. why did they hound her? because her patients didn't go to "their" doctors. she did radical things like test for vitamin D levels! that was heresy back then.
2) i am 61 and have never had a mammogram. i have my tonsils and my appendix and i intend to go into the ground with all my parts. if i ever have cancer, there is no way i am going for conventional treatments and if i did have surgery to remove a tumor, i would NOT have radiation or chemo as "insurance." i have seen too many people have recurrences years later in spite of clockwork mammograms
my 2 friends who opted for surgery only against the hysterical admonitions of their doctors fared the best. they are alive and kicking many years after their medically granted expiration dates
3) for people who said "thermography is better but it isn't covered by insurance so for the time being, we have to stick with mammograms"- also poppycock. that attitude will make sure that mammograms are your only option for all eternity. start rebelling. ask your doctor about thermograms and why he doesn't offer them. insurance in the USA is the real "death panel" locking people into treatments that are most profitable for providers and most harmful for patients
4) i have seen recently 2 young women with "suspicious" mammograms who are now completely convinced that they actually had cancer and were "cured" thanks to the amazing miraculous medical system. BS! whatever they "had" was probably a reading error and would have gone away on it's own
another woman was convinced that something was wrong but her mammograms were all normal. she couldn't shake the feeling but test after test came back all clear and finally she found the lump herself. when she tells the story, she uses it as an example of how life saving mammograms are and how every woman should have them religiously, after all they saved her life. i had said i never have them and she was trying to convince me of their importance; i felt that her argument made my case.
such is the power of medical monopoly magic! even when they fail, they are seen as life saving. we are so brainwashed that we can't conceive of something else.
5) i also know a woman who had a mammogram, was given the all clear and had another 6 months later- voila, cancer! she endured pretty horrific treatments. at one point, her immune system was so destroyed that the nurses were calling her constantly to make sure she wasn't dead. they only told her that later. she was plunged into early menopause and put on tamoxifen for 5 years. she's fine but lives in fear of her own body, if you can call that fine
another friend went through much the same thing, chose the most aggressive treatments so that she would be alive to see her children grown up. she finally crossed the 5 yr threshold- a survivor statistic!- only to have a recurrence within the year. she's now in that try this medication until it fails phase and is still trying to stay alive for her kids. although this time, she has changed her diet. surely she had frequent mammograms. how did they miss it?
6) radiation from sunlight and radiation from mammograms are not the same thing. we evolved to live with the one; the other is a very new thing
7) no, nutrition is not a guarantee but it's the best insurance we have along with avoiding as much chemical exposure as possible. complaining to my best friend's oncologist about the sugar laden crap served as food at MSKCC, he said "i don't know anything about nutrition." at least he admitted it. my friend took his pills with plastic wrapped pound cake and washed them down with diet coke. not the best diet for anyone; really bad for a cancer patient. he died on his 41st birthday
thanks, catherine, for this post. you took a lot of flack but you also encouraged a lot of debate
continued good health to you
Allyson Turner
Bravo! Very well said ...
EEB (Aust)
Carolyn
Unfortunately, the ONLY way we can make an informed decision about screening is to do our own research. It's a disgrace, but I certainly would never trust the official discourse on women's cancer screening, I've found it to be unreliable. (to put it politely)
If I trusted these programs I'd be up to pap test No. 20 or so by now and probably would have had at least one "scare" (false positive, colposcopy and biopsy) and I'd be having breast screening unaware of the risk of over-diagnosis and that the risks of testing exceed the benefit.
Thanks to doing my own research over the last 30 years, I know that pap testing is pointless for me, HPV- women cannot benefit from pap testing, and that you can test yourself for HPV reliably and easily. Our program screens far too early, far too often and for too long, maximizing the risk of a false positive, excess biopsy etc. This is not in the interests "of women".
I think heads should roll, men got risk information quickly for prostate screening and doctors were reminded to obtain informed consent, yet women are still waiting for the same respectful and ethical treatment.
Many women are coerced into pap testing, this negates all consent. (how many women are told they must have pap testing if they want the Pill? This would be like saying to a man, no Viagra until you have a colonoscopy, of course, that would never happen)
Gail
And I second that Bravo!
Bel
You might be interested in this movie http://thepromisefilm.net/
Marie-Eve
I agree with what Catherine says in her article.
I am 36, I never had a mammogram, a family doctor, a gynecologist or even a dentist in my whole life (my parents were hippies as you can see). My father died of brain cancer (he worked in a toxic steel factory), my grandfather had breast cancer, my uncle leukemia... In Canada health services are accessible and affordable but still I decide to not use them. I am in great health, never sick, never had a single cavity, look ten years younger than my age. I listen to my body. I educate myself constantly (not on Doctor Oz, but in medical textbooks which are edited almost every year). I constantly make choices that benefit my health instead of flattering my ego or satisfying my childish cravings. I am not saying that a healthy living makes me 100% cancer proof. If my turn comes to be sick with cancer, I do not think I can deal with the aggressive treatments of modern medicine. I would choose the "natural" route, as it suits my constitution better. Another person may be more suited for chemo, radiations, etc. But it's killed everybody else in my family in matters of months, so I know our family does not do well on these treatments. I do believe in individualized approaches, always.
I know money comes first and people second in our society and although there are many very well-meaning people in the medical field, the authorities in charge never have your health as their main priority and anybody would be naive to think otherwise. I believe in a simple toxin-free hygiene and a good balanced individualized diet. Every person is different, what is good for me may be poisonous for you. We never speak of individuality and I find it sad. Of course, we are all humans and we all have basic common needs. Also another person spoke of the emotional aspect of cancer. This is something that is most often overseen in medical offices. But it is so important.
Everybody will agree that a healthy lifestyle and diet are a good way to not invite cancer in your life. But why are doctors so ill-trained in the field of nutrition? They specialize in the human body but the basic needs of the human body are breathing, drinking, eating. Why are they not trained in the field of nutrition if it is so important? Why don't they look for causes and simply treat the symptoms? This is why I have little faith in the holistic approach of any allopathic medicine.
My background is in nutritional medicine. I would like to add to those who say that they eat healthy but get sick all the time: "eating healthy" is something that is so relative and so misunderstood. I have clients who believe eating sugar-filled, refined flour, trans-fatty muffins is healthy eating. Other clients think that skim milk lattes are healthy eating (and calorie-free!). Others think that eating non-organic chicken twice a day is healthy eating. I have heard many people counting calories as their main way of eating "healthy". As their only criteria, even! And others who state that all fats are bad. So many misconceptions.
I strongly believe that more money must be put towards EDUCATION and that the medical knowledge should be made accessible and comprehensive for all. Less runs and concerts for cancer and more classes!!! Because we don't need to fill the pockets of cancer research any more, we need to fill our brains with knowledge and the power to take care of ourselves better.
I have seen true miracles in some people who have adapted their diets to support their individual needs. I have seen mental illnesses disappear in a week and serious skin conditions vanish in days. Please, it's not voodoo... it's NATURE. Enough with the anti-naturalist paranoia. Eating is the basis of life and yes, it does make a difference.
Great blog, Catherine.
Tati
Mammograms are useless. A simple ultrasound is capable of the same level of detection. The Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging is more efficient in terms of finding anything abnormal sooner than a mammogram. The truth here is that there is a big business behind the suffering of many. Just think about the amount of dollars it will take to replace that cruel and obsolete technology that only works for torturing women and put money in the pocket of the "health" industry.
Lynn Marie
I agree with most of what I have read in these comments. I am a 14 year survivor of breast cancer. What I have learned during my experience is that cancer is a crap shoot. There are no concrete answers as to how it will behave in the body. Women in Stage 1 have died while women in Stage 4 have survived. No rhythm or reason. I found my tumor and it never showed up on the mammograms because it was up so high under my arm. Self exams can be life saving. It is easy to say what you would or would not do if you had cancer, but when you actually hear those words, your whole world changes. I was treated by Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. When the oncologist put the numbers in front of me on the chances for survival, I went for the 96% survival rate, and that meant chemo and radiation even though my lymph nodes where negative. I agreed to be part of a study comparing two sets of chemo. My stats were put into the computer and it came back with the more toxic of the two being compared. Instead of a 6 month regimen it was condensed into 3 months with higher doses of chemo. Yes, there were times I thought the treatment was going to kill me, but I bullied my way through and started back to the gym while going through radiation. I think my martial arts training gave me my fighting spirit. Your mindset has ALOT to do with how you handle your treatment. I took steps to make sure I didn't burn and my skin is just as normal as it was before radiation. I am now 57 and at 56 took an early retirement from the federal government, one reason being the stress was affecting my body. I am now organic and excercise and look 10 years younger I am told. It is all an individual choice. Yes the treatment was brutal, but so is cancer. I went with an aggresive treatment, maybe overkill, but I wasn't taking a chance that a cancer cell was hiding somewhere else in my body. We can do everything right with our health, but cancer is going to do what cancer wants to do.
Joni M Nicodemus
I learned & am proving out that death begins in the colon! If you look at the detailed design of the colon which is 5 times longer than our height. It is connected to every part of the body and the breast are NO EXCEPTION! You will see that there are 2 pockets that reflex to the mammary glands ! When those get impacted the life & energy doesnt flow ,gets blocked up & creates lumps or whatever in the breast. We don't cut off breast we irrigate the colon.!!! They hide so much truth from us its hardly heard of no more (enema's ) BUT this is how we kept healthy ! If our babies were sick we gave enema's & whola they were better! Wellness visits, vaccines all their evil cut, burn, poison LOOk at this whole disease disaster ! We never heard of a disease when I was growing -up... NOW?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? My youth is being renewed as the Eagles! I avoid them & all their practicing like the plague & have a diet to prove it! GOD BLESS ALL YOU PRECIOUS LADIES MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE & LIKENESS! We shall overcome! P.S. Remember we need 50% more nutrients than a man to keep all this extra parts healthy especially when pregnant & nursing!
Laurie
I totally agree with your statements about treating the body as a whole system rather than isolated parts. Everything is connected and influences all other systems. The disconnect is one of the most frustrating parts of conventional medicine.
Myriam
I wholeheartedly agree with your article. I'm almost 56 and have never had a mammogram. Thank you for bringing light to this very important topic. It makes me sick to think of all the women that are frightened, uninformed and convinced to get them with scare tactics, that conventional medicine uses to disempower them! i often post about this topic on my Facebook health coaching page. Women need to know the truth and start taking ownership of their body!
Susan
This is just plain irresponsible!
Catherine
Thanks Susan for sharing your opinion. There are many different views on the topic, including the Swiss who have actually started phasing out the mammogram: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/823781
"Second, we were struck by how nonobvious it was that the benefits of mammography screening outweighed the harms. The relative risk reduction of approximately 20% in breast-cancer mortality associated with mammography that is currently described by most expert panels came at the price of a considerable diagnostic cascade, with repeat mammography, subsequent biopsies, and overdiagnosis of breast cancers — cancers that would never have become clinically apparent." via http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1401875
Abundantly,
Catherine
Myriam
This is the PLAIN TRUTH is what it is! Or do you blindly just buy everything the establishment tells you to do? It's time to think for ourselves, while countless women have been needlessly maimed because of false positives and other hazards of mammograms. There are plenty of MD's who are also against mammograms.
Sharon
You are putting out a very dangerous message. The 20 and 30 year olds who have breast cancer totally discredit your theory. I had early stage breast cancer that was caught at this stage only because I am religious about getting my mammograms. Mammograms save lives. You, however, are trying to destroy lives.
mara
One thing many women don't even think twice about is:
What are you putting in your armpits every day? Because if its a commercial deodorant such as clinical strength sweat blocking toxic chemicals, it’s sure to cause lymph nodes in the armpit and breasts to become cancerous. If you want to detox and heal start by simply melting a 1/2 cup coconut oil and a cup of baking soda together and using that as a deodorant. It works wonderfully for odors and detoxes at the same time. Every woman would be so wise to do this for themselves.
Wendy
Mammograms save lives. It saved mine and 9 out of 10 of my cancer support group were diagnosed because of mammograms. In Australia mammograms are free after 50 yes of age when the chances of breast cancer increase quite dramatically. I do agree that DCIS is over treated in the US but not in Australia. This is driven by other factors and women in the US should be not so quick to go under the knife.
Mara
I get screened via ultrasound by Oncologist-mammologist twice a year. She can see my tissues through till the rib cage bone. How about this method? Why almost nobody is talking about it?? It involves no radiation and no squeezing! Please share your opinion!
Elizabeth (Aust)
I'm almost 57 and have also, declined mammograms, an informed decision.
I'm Australian and the discussion here is at least a decade behind the UK, over-diagnosis has been discussed in medical circles for a long time now, but was mentioned to women here for the first time about 3 years ago by Prof Robin Bell from Monash Uni. I find it very concerning that only 2 or so of our doctors have felt morally and ethically obliged to step forward and warn women. The law and proper ethical standards says informed consent is a must in cancer screening, that's impossible if we don't get balanced and complete information.
The best information on the net is found at the website of the Nordic Cochrane Institute, an independent (that's important) not for profit (so is that) medical research group. Over 10 years ago they produced a brochure setting out the actual benefits and risks with breast screening. It's not good...about 50% of screen detected breast cancers are over-diagnosed and any benefit of screening is wiped away by those who die from cancers and heart attacks after treatments. So the risks exceed the benefit.
There is also, a DVD called "The Promise" (Breast Screening) - it's about $6, but very informative. Also, articles by Prof Michael Baum, UK breast cancer surgeon, he also, has a great lecture on You Tube, "Breast cancer screening:the inconvenient truth".
We had Peter Gotzsche, head of the NCI, in Australia recently, I also, heard him speak at the Evidence Live Conference in Oxford last year. I have enormous respect for this man, he could have remained quiet like most doctors, but felt he must challenge the conduct of these programs and educate and warn women. He had no opinion on breast screening when he was asked to review the evidence for and against breast screening over 10 years ago now, he was shocked when he looked at the evidence...he considers breast screening to be harmful and believes it should be stopped.
There are powerful vested interests in women's cancer screening so it's important to do your own reading, ask lots of questions and make informed decisions about screening and yes, we can say NO. If your doctor doesn't respect your right to choose, I'd find a new one.
I practice breast awareness, just taking note of the normal look of my breasts in the mirror every morning after showering (not self examination, which has not been recommended for a few years now, it doesn't help, but leads to excess biopsies and causes anxiety) I'll see a doctor if I notice any changes. I don't have clinical breast exams either, same thing, no proven benefit, but they lead to excess biopsies. Fortunately, clinical breast exams are not recommended here at any age.
Be careful with cervical screening too, the evidence may surprise you, almost all women are having unnecessary pap testing that does nothing more than expose them to risk. (I don't have pap tests either, HPV- women cannot benefit)
In my opinion, the best program in the world, for those who wish to test, is the new Dutch program, no population pap testing, instead replaced with 5 HPV primary tests, or self testing with the Delphi Screener, at ages 30,35,40,50 and 60 and a 5 yearly pap test will ONLY be offered to the roughly 5% who are HPV+
Most women are HPV- and cannot benefit from pap testing, biopsies or "treatments".
This always rare cancer has a lifetime risk of just 0.65%, but under the Australian OVER-screening program, the lifetime risk of referral for colposcopy and usually at least a biopsy is a whopping 77%
Almost all of this damage was avoidable with an evidence based program and some respect for informed consent and consent itself. (some women are coerced, pressured or misled into pap testing)
The new Dutch program will save more lives and takes most women out of pap testing and harms way.
Non evidence based screening usually means excessive, early and inappropriate screening, this does not benefit women, but worries and harms a lot of women. (and makes a lot of money for vested interests)
Sadly, pap testing does not prevent the very rare cancers that affect those under 30, but this group produce the most false positives which can lead to potentially harmful over-treatment, this is why the Finns and Dutch do not pap test women under 30. HPV primary testing is also, not recommended before age 30. About 40% of those under 30 would test HPV+, transient and harmless infections that clear within a year or so, by age 30 only about 5% of women are HPV+, these are the only women who should be offered a pap test.
Finland has the lowest rates of cc in the world and they refer FAR fewer women for biopsies etc. Since the 1960s they've offered 7 pap tests, 5 yearly from 30 to 60.
The American practice of using both HPV and pap testing together provides no additional benefit to women, but leads to the most investigation. ($$$)
Also, the annual "wellness" exam promoted to American and Canadian women is not evidence based and far more likely to harm you. The routine pelvic exam is of poor clinical value, is not a screening test for ovarian cancer, and exposes you to risk, even unnecessary surgery.
US women have poorer health outcomes, your Dr Carolyn Westhoff, ob-gyn, partly blames the routine pelvic exam for this fact.
1 in 3 US women will have a hysterectomy by age 60, more than twice the number performed in countries who don't do routine pelvic exams, it's the same story with the removal of healthy ovaries.
I believe we should value, respect and protect the asymptomatic female body, these exams/tests/programs carry risk so the law and proper ethical standards says it must be own decision. I think informed consent (and often even consent itself) is usually missing in women's cancer screening, and that's totally unacceptable.
HPV Today, Edition 24, sets out the new Dutch program.
lynda B
Don't get me started with the continual disappointments I have experienced over the years with "doctors" of western medicine. I've had so many friends with false positives from mammograms (which lead to stress, time off work, and a whole range of spin-off problems), that I am convinced to never get one myself - for that reason and others. I have also learned to take "government" sponsored research in stride, and compare it to that of European/Scandinavian nations, etc., before considering it "fact."
As a former competitive athlete, and no stranger to injuries and medical conditions, it always made me sad when I visited a specialist, and appeared to be more informed than he/she was on modern research of the injury, and the benefits of herbs, natural diets, and therapy, instead of drugs and surgeries, to correct problems. There's nothing that makes me "fire" the doctors faster than when I know more than they do. Western medicine treats the symptoms, instead of the problems. Holistic approaches heal.
One should be very careful to consider the "why" behind American research, and the way technology is imposed upon us (don't get me started on air bags...). The more informed you are about ALL research out there, the better. The internet is good, but don't be afraid to also search your libraries for work/research that hasn't been posted to the internet yet.
Mara
Please research the iodine and breast health! The majority of population is iodine-deficient and this negatively impacts the breast health. I would recommend two books - by Dr. David Brownstein and Lynn Farrow. Tons of useful info! That's where the truly prevention can be (among other factors of course).
Debbie
I have suspected this to be true for a while now. In 1985, my mother died at age 57 of breast cancer. When I look back on the events that lead to her death, I believe the medical knowledge and protocol used to treat her actually killed her. When she was about 42, she got a full hysterectomy, because that's why the doctor recommended at the time. I'm sure they gave her some heavy duty Estrogen Replacement Therapy, because that' was the treatment given after they took out your reproductive system. So for about 12 years she was feeding herself poison because it's the treatment you need to survive. At 55, she found a tumor in her breast. She was fed more poison because that's how you treat the tumors. After she died, I was told I should have a yearly mammogram starting at age 30. I did that yearly for about 30 years. Before I read this article, I've been feeling convicted to stop any more mammograms. I think it's time to let God handle my prevention of diseases.
Jo
Breast health is completely ignored in the medical system and women are encouraged to leave their breasts alone until a cancer is big enough to show up on a mammogram, so it can then be treated.
We are seeing more people being persecuted for offering a breast health service such as this::
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/helping-women-reclaim-their-breast-health/326084
Aimee
Great piece and couldn't agree with you more. I have transitioned to thermography and am so happy I did after reading the wonderful (and very reputable) Christiane Northrup MD's Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom.which was a textbook in a college class I took on women's health. The fact that it is non-invasive, respects the body, AND can detect changes years before a mammogram was my #1 set of reasons, and after having had mammograms annually since age 28 because of family history (and cried at every one they were so painful), it was refreshing to learn about this technology, and sad that most insurance plans blow it off. But hey, GE makes the mammography machines, owns the companies that create the cancer causing chemicals, and funds Susan G Komen and other pinkwashing organizations and fund much of the "objective" research, so I suppose it's not a huge surprise. What creeps me out is a recent doctor rolling her eyes when I said I had one rather than respecting my choice for my body.
Jan
I agree with Lynn Marie. I currently have breast cancer and I've had chemo and a bilateral mastectomy with radiation to follow. You do what you have to do to survive. You don't know what you will do until you hear those words, you have cancer. I say, get those mammograms. I got one every year and they found mine.
Michael Novak
I am specialising in full body thermography exams and breast thermography, and I can speak from my personal experience. Practically in every body it is possible to find metastases of cancer which will (or will not) appear some time in the future. Breast cancer is developing 8-10 years, thermography can detect the very first years when the cancerous process can be easily stopped by natural preventive treatment. Every body produces cancer cells, but they regularly die when the immune system and other body functions work properly. When the body gets weaker, especially after emotional or physical stress, cancer cells start multiplying and a person can develop a detectable cancer rapidly. But this cancer was developing during many years and did not appear out of nowhere. My experience shows that women with pre-cancerous situation in the breasts or breast cancer usually have thyroid dysfunction. And breast problems usually go hand in hand with gynecological diseases. It makes sense to do breast thermography exams regularly and in case of any suspicious situation start with preventive natural treatment.
Jenny
I believe there will NEVER be a cure for cancer, especially breast cancer !!!! It is a HUGE money making business. I believe there is a cure but insurance see dollar signs = our government controlling our healthcare.
George Day
In the interest of full disclosure I am a man.
Personally I would rather go through some undue stress and tests than take the chance of having breast cancer, Also I am pretty sure that the amount of radiation you are exposed to during a mamogram are not enough to give you Brest cancer, or any cancer.
Mari Burnias
I just started researching mammograms because I have never had one. I just turned 40 in May and felt that because it was recommended by my "female" doctor, I should get one. I don't have a history of breast cancer in either side of my family, nor do I take or use any form of birth control. However, I don't have the best diet, and am overweight, I feel I should still be examined due to other factors that do contribute to breast cancer. I am very interested in the thermography. What types of questions should I be asking to find a good accredited facility. Will they be able to properly interpret the imaging if they don't have anything to compare it to?
Christina Ventura-DiPersia
I honestly have no problem with people having certain opinions (and yes, your post is completely based on opinion and a lack of an understanding of health-related statistics and sensitivity/specificity). I do have a problem with individuals using their position in making money from their blog (and putting posts up that are clickbait so that they get more money from their blog) when they do not have an educational or professional basis to do so.
It will not serve me much good to try to help those on your page, as they are obviously already fans of yours and seem to believe, for some reason, what you are posting. But what I will say, to all, is to do your research. Screening tests are going to have a higher number of false positive tests (digital mammography actually has incredibly high sensitivity, which means it is able to detect disease in individuals who are actually diseased), because it does not want to miss any incidence of disease. Just because you don't "believe" in breast cancer treatment doesn't mean that it's logical to have a "one size fits all" approach to treatment as your post entails. And no, diet isn't going to do much to stop the spread of cancer once it is growing rampantly inside your body.
Of course, primary prevention is wonderful - in public health, we LOVE to prevent a disease from occurring at all. But for the vast majority of things, with breast cancer included, the evidence is inconclusive at best (contrary to your post above) as to how we can actually do that. So we have to rely on secondary prevention methods, like mammography, in order to pick up disease in women while they are still asymptomatic and at the earliest possible clinically detectable stages.
While you may not be getting a mammogram, mammograms have resulted in an improved overall survival rate of breast cancer. For women who are part of disparate populations who do not have access to optimal nutrition and other advice that you assume everyone can follow regardless of socioeconomic status, mammograms (and other screening methods) provide an opportunity for women who do not have regular access to health care a fighting chance.
I am happy to answer any questions and engage in intelligent discourse with anyone who wants to discuss the current literature on breast cancer. I wrote my master's thesis on tertiary prevention in cancer patients (of IADL disability), am working on my dissertation in women's health, and am an assistant professor in a health sciences program on long island, NY.
mel
Christina;
Do yourself a favor and Watch "Every Cancer Can be Cured in Weeks explains Dr. L…" on YouTube
Every Cancer Can be Cured in Weeks explains Dr. L…: http://youtu.be/DgbdNNfotwM
Meghan
FINALLY some common sense. Thank you, Christina. I was talking to a breast cancer survivor friend of mine recently - I brought up this thread. She said something really interesting to me - "Meghan, the type of people who won't get mammograms are the same types who probably think psychiatric drugs are bad. Just improve your diet! Whatever. Don't listen to them. Mammography saved my life." As someone (me) who fought medication for years and then, finally, got the correct treatment, I knew exactly what she was saying. There will always be naysayers - there will always be people who think they "know better," perpetuating conspiracy theories, throwing out websites like the Mercolas of the world (bought and paid for) as if they espouse some kind of Truth...and it's up to each individual to make an informed choice and stop with the fear mongering. I will continue to get mammograms and I will continue to encourage others to do the same. My mother is alive because of them. Many of my friends are alive because of them as well. I would hate to see someone eschew this technology simply because she thinks she's being "duped" by the medical profession. I choose education, and real life experience, over willful ignorance and unfounded paranoia. Be well, all.
Dianne
My mother lived 6months after diagnosis.. refused tx, stage 4. She went on a raw diet, alkalized her body, had weekly colonics.. to no avail, it spread and she died. All Cancer isn't the same. That's not to say a healthy diet would maybe work on some, just not all. I guess what I'm trying to say is give us facts of real instances instead of just assuming that a healthy, good, alkaline diet will reduce/cure cancer.
PS. If your grandmother wouldn't have gotten modern medicine tx for 7years, she would have probably only lived 6 months, so she bought herself some time with your grandfather, their choice.. so don't knock it.. it was a choice..she still died, but had more time which is the case with many cancer patients.
HJ
I do believe prevention is more important than cure. However, they are NOT opposite to each other. There's absolutely no reason why regular mammograms would deter people from healthy lifestyle. I believe it is a part of healthy lifestyle.
I have aunts who maintained very healthy diet and lifestyle. But "prevention" wasn't enough because you can prevent getting certain genes. Some cancers are maintainable - you can live with some cancers, but some cancers will definitely kill you very soon. One passed away because she found the cancer too late - there was no point of treating, so she focused on natural remedies. (I'm an Asian and she lived in Asia and many people believe in the healing power of nature than western medicine.) I also believe in the importance of naturally improving your health, but that's not perfect. The other aunt survived cancer, because she took mammograms and found her cancer early enough so she could get treatments. It has been about 10 years and she's now healthy - of course, she still takes even more care for her diet.
I do strongly support healthy nutrition and that's incredibly important. That does not nullify the advancement of medical discovery. We live longer than any other time of our history, especially if you get the benefit from both sides. I exercise, eat healthy, and sleep well. I get mammograms once per 3 years, because I have family history and I have a small benign lump in my breast. I think they are complementary to each other.
I eat better things for my teeth, I brush my teeth and floss diligently. I get regular checkups regularly even though I know I'm doing well and I haven't had any dental problem for a long time. Awareness for dental checkups is not a call for stop brushing teeth. Rather, the dentist will help you maintaining healthy habits. I think the same goes for mammogram...
Steven
When you feel a lump or cancer growing out of your breast then remember not to get that mammogram or biopsy. Heck, why bother even getting it taken out.
ThirtySomething
I recently found a lump in my right breast. I am early thirties and have been for my very first mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. I am more than happy to cling to "western medicine" in any attempt to both diagnose and possibly treat whatever I may have.
All I know right now is that there is another lump under my arm which was discovered in the ultrasound and this too will be checked next week.
If the worst comes to the worst and I am told I have breast cancer I will follow my doctors advice and do any treatments that will prolong my life.
I think to say that you have never had a mammogram and never will is an ignorant opinion! You have clearly not felt a lump in your breast late at night and lain awake all night worrying about it. To say you would treat with diet and clean living is, in MY opinion bulls**t. You would go to the doctor like any of us and you would have the treatment if it meant prolonging your life.
Cancer is a horrific disease and strikes fear into anyone who has ever felt a lump anywhere. The fact that modern medicine has allowed more people than ever to fight and survive cancer is so wonderful and a testament to the ever expanding intelligence of the human race.
I am a lifelong Vegan. My parents raised me to know the full value of a plant based diet. I exercise, practice Yoga and generally life a free and healthy lifestyle (apart from my maple syrup flapjacks). By your logic I will never develop breast cancer and if I do it will no doubt be blamed on my one and only mammogram.
I am hoping this turns out to be nothing but by god I would rather know what I'm up against and give myself a fighting chance than sit in the corner, surround myself with self diagnosis and hope for the best.
To anyone reading this and unsure about what to do PLEASE PLEASE go get checked out. The articles above are no doubt written by professionals but, as we all know, you can find the opinion you want from any number of professionals, in any number of fields for both sides to every argument.
To close I guess I would like to say that this is clearly only an opinion and therefore not really harmful to anyone, BUT (there's always a but on these kinda posts) to research anything as important as this on the internet will point you in the weirdest directions, that's how I found my way here. Talk to your friends, family and your doctor (or doctors if you are not sure) and make your OWN informed decision. Then proceed how you want but don't do nothing simply because (like the author above) you are afraid of an answer or of the treatment.
Commence lashback comments!!!
Myriam
No lash back comment here. It is your body to do with as you please. Please also educate yourself so you understand how the body becomes toxic and diseased and how there are many ways to help your body be well, as well as the many dangers of mammograms as documented. Green Med Info has several articles that come from government research from PubMed.gov.
I'm almost 57, have never had a mammogram and will not either. I have no lumps, but also don't eat dairy or gluten, drink coffee or alcohol, or wear underwire bras, am not overweight, which all contribute to "lumps" and I was able to breastfeed 4 daughter for a total of 8.5 years which contributes greatly to natural breast health.
Everyone has their path but I truly believe those that are against mammograms, such as I am, because I have read the research and have followed a holistic lifestyle for many years, truly care about womankind's health and believe there is a lot if misinformation out there as well as many scare tactics used on women. I would not let anyone cut my breasts off, nor would I ever take chemo or radiation, but I'm coming from a different perspective completely.
Wishing you the best.
mel
You may be vegan and eat well but what are you putting in your armpits every day? Because if its a commercial deodorant such as clinical strength sweat blocking toxic chemicals, it's sure to cause lymph nodes in the armpit and breasts to become cancerous. If you want to detox and heal start by simply melting a 1/2 cup coconut oil and a cup of baking soda together and using that as a deodorant. It works wonderfully for odors and detoxes at the same time. Every woman would be so wise to do this for themselves.
Debbie
I had my first (and only) mammogram when I turned that magic age of 40 and I will never have another. I have fibrous breast tissue and that made the test extremely painful and the tech "saw something" and rushed me off for further tests. After hours of waiting for them to finish the poking and pictures they told me what I already knew.
Now I am at that magic age for a colonoscopy. No one understands why I refuse to submit to this "routine" screening. But they also can't answer my question of how they know polyps will turn into cancer.
I have been living with chronic and recurring shingles for 5 years and have learned a lot about nutrition and natural medicine (I found no relief with any of the pharmaceuticals I tried and rely on acupuncture and aromatherapy) . I have even started growing my own food (from organic heirloom seeds) and keeping bees (in the spring we are adding chickens).
Keep educating people with your research! Too often we only hear what they choose to tell us to sell their products.
Nancy
I am 74 and never had a mammogram and am not planning on it. This decision was a gradual one--I kept putting it off until I was over 50 and was told back then that you had to have one before the age of 50 to provide a baseline. I have read articles on the subject and am at peace with my decision--I am going to die of something--in fact, it is more likely that I will have stroke since they run in my family. I have not been to a gynecologist since 1978 and do not regret that either. I take no medications, exercise a lot, still run a professional practice, and enjoy my family consisting of husband, children and grandchildren. I just wake up every morning--don't worry about my health and get on with my day--and feel just as I did when I was in my 30's.. At this point, something could happen in the next 30 seconds to change this, but again, I will not regret any of my decisions. They have resulted in a very peaceful life with no anxiety over medical tests. When I was young I made a vow to myself that I was not going to end up like a lot of older people who are obsessed with their health. I hope that I am able to continue with this perspective.
Myriam
What a fabulous perspective! I salute you!
AJ
Another 'government's out to get us' type article picking and choosing statistics based on ignorant hippy ideals. Believe it or not, the people coming up with ways to spot cancer and prolong cancer patients' lives are far more intelligent than you and are fully aware of the wide array of possible pros and cons their methods have on human health. Negative outcomes are the risk they take in an attempt to save your life, and if you want to turn your nose up at that with a song and dance about how unnatural or detrimental it is, go and live in a cave like our ancestors - who didn't have access to our modern, truly incredible medical advancements and tended to die of the slightest non-diet related illness - and see how you go. As organisms, we're not built to be invincible as long as we eat good things, that's such an airy-fairy hippy concept. A truly natural life is full of suffering and hardship. What modern science gives us in the way of lives free from such toils, is so under-appreciated by the types of people who read this article and think 'yeah, you're right, mammograms are evil'.
Rita
Don't bash on hippies. You can totally be a hippie and a scientist. Save Earth in the name of science!
Diamond
What an amazing article! I have read all the comments too.
All the best, Catherine! 🙂
Robin Gerardi
This couldn't have come to my attention at a better time. I've already had 3 surgical biopsies, all fibroid tumors. I reluctantly agreed to go for a Mammogram and soon after returning home was called by my doctors office to inform me they want me to have another one and possibly an ultrasound as well. I was so angry I just burst into tears and said to my husband "I'm not going through this again." After receiving a call from the hospital and a letter to reschedule, I decided it stops here. I'm not having any further tests. I know I'm healthy and with my $5,000.00 deductible it would also all come out of my pocket. I've decided no more mamos! I thank God for leading me to your site. I bought your book and have already read it. I'm 58 and extremely healthy, but have been on the wrong track.....dieting! I eat clean already, but I think I don't eat enough and I have been off of sugar for a long time. I am hopeful about this healthy train of thought. Thank you, Robin
WhatAJoke
Some people should not have the right to an opinion... I'll bet this is really all because you don't want to flop your tits out. You find it 'degrading'. Get over it.
Robin
Wow! Talk about judgemental! Her article is is "why I won't get a mammogram" not " why you shouldn't get a mammogram". Fortunately we are all entitled to our opinions, granted I'm sure there are a lot that would put an end to that freedom as well. I personally have been having mammograms since I was 35 years old and have had 3 surgical biopsies which revealed fibroid tumors. I just had my last Mammography at 58 which resulted in a call from my physician requesting I schedule another mammography and an ultrasound and a possible additional test. I called and cancelled. I told my physician even if they found another tumor, I wasn't going for another surgical biopsy, so what was the point, especially since I have a $5,000.00 deductible so it would all come out of my pocket. I am proactive about my health and know my body and I also trust God. I have also read a lot about a lot of tests that doctors push and have also concluded on my own that I will not have another mammogram or a pabstsmear or a colonoscopy. Fortunately we still have the freedom to make those decisions without judgement. Perhaps you have had a different personal experience that causes you to feel differently, but it still doesn't give you the right to judge, criticize and especially be mean. If you want to take issue, why don't you turn on the insurance companies and the medical profession instead!
F
Great response robin.. Some people are just so callous and rude and looking for s fight
Allyson
A. Men. The AMA is the BIGGEST scam going. If you haven't figured that out by just looking around at what an infirm country we've become since they've taken over the ''world of health', then you are blind. Regardless, "flop your tits out' speaks volumes to the commenter's intellect and that in and of itself is enough to make me go against her/his advice or opinion. That said, I'm 56 and figured out a LONG time ago that the answer is in nature and taking care of yourself. NOT in following a corporation whose main objective is to keep people on the merry go round of illness until you die.
Rebecca
This subject is very personal to me. My mother and grandmother's lives were saved because they do routine mammograms. Because they were found early and had treatment. My aunt who never had mammograms or went to the doctor, died. Treatment for breast cancer is very difficult for the person receiving it and for their loved ones watching them go through it. However, if you were starting to get a lump in your breast, wouldn't you want to know??? I guess I have a hard time with this article because the research and statistics mean nothing to me- all I know is that my mom and grandma are still alive today because of one simple mammogram and for that I am forever grateful.
Shelley van Niekerk
Ive been for two already. Sucks when you are ill-informed and do what society tells you to. Love your articles. Follow you on fb. Wish I had your knowledge!
A Realist
Speaking logically, regular mammograms would detect cancer at the beginning, so if you decide to ever get one down the road, a mammogram might not pick it up because the cancer could be at an advanced stage -- just shooting yourself in the foot there. You're foolish because you are more at risk since your family member had it -- that's a shot in your other foot. Calling all the smart doctors who know what they're doing idiots? Shot yourself in the arm. Great, now you're fighting cancer with one arm and you can't move or reload your eastern voodoo cancer-gun.
Furthermore, the facts you use are either clearly in favor of why you SHOULD get a mammogram (85% is greater than 15%), or they are lacking -- you don't cite evidence, you make assertions or just share how you feel about mammograms and that nasty, ineffective evil western medicine.
Thank you for your insightful article on how to be a backwards idiot. Say hi to your shaman for me!
A Realist
Seriously, all y'all pooh-pooers of "Western Medicine" are probably the most retarded bunch of people I have ever seen-- you don't bother to actually research. You cherry-pick "facts" and blind yourself to everything else because your friend Susan's witch-doctor Zandabar had some dank herbs for your back-ache. Ever think your witch-doctor friends are trying to make a quick buck off of saps like you who believe their bullcrap about ginseng or ginger root or whatever crap he tells you guys put in your bong?
Nancy
I certainly believe in Western medicine but I have never had a mammogram--I'll be 75 next week and I wake up every morning feeling like I did in my 20's and 30's. I maintain an active lawpractice and exercise regularly. I guess I hit it lucky in the genetics lottery. I read an article about 40 years ago that said Americans worry too much about how they are going to die. That sank into my subconscious so I really am not concerned about the manner of my inevitable death. Even though a mammogram could perhaps catch cancer early, thus avoiding a death from cancer, I would still die from something else.--probably a stroke which is prevalent in my family . Even if I discovered tomorrow that I had a cancer which had been growing in me over the years, I would not regret a single choice I have made.. I have had a happy life concentrating on my husband (we have now been married 51 years) our three children, five grandchildren, and my career.. Who wants to think about their death all the time--I don't..
Sylvie
Nancy, reading you is so refreshing!
Thank you for your inspirational comment!
gracie
I had a mammogram last month and they detected cancer for which i have started treatment on. Hopefully i will survive so i can see my beautiful girls grow up. Its your right not to have the test done. I am thankful i had mine done. I chose to fight to live. I dont choose to be ignorant and die.
Katie
mammograms have become extremely painful for me. No woman should EVER have a painful mammogram. Don't tell me it is only for a short time. It is TOO painful for even a short time. I have had bruising from mammograms which shows that the compression is too much. I have another mammogram scheduled in a few weeks. If it is painful, it will be my last one.
Jessica
This is the definition of natural selection. Have fun on your deathbed explaining to your children why they're going to lose their mother to something that could have been prevented. OR good luck explaining to your dying child why you didn't tell her sooner that she could have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer.
Allyson Turner
30 years ago, I was diagnosed w/stage 4 pre-cancer cervical cancer. The biopsy process was so HORRIBLE that I didn't care if I died. I knew I would NEVER put my body in the hands of that system every again. And I haven't. And I'm thrilled. I'm now 58 and far healthier than most people 20 years my junior. AND I'm missing several vital glands and organs THANKS to that system, have brought myself through alcoholism, annorexia, bulimia, Epstein Barre Syndrome and massive depression.
You want to be healthy? Take care of yourself. Do the research and move through life with the intelligence you were meant to have and use. Starting with STOPPING with using underarm deodorant. seriously? OR stay in front of the TAYVAY and pledge your allegiance to all the fear mongering.
sara
Well its good information, The above information is very beautiful. And thank U for shearing this useful points. 😀 😀
Biomaterials Journal
dhammagirl
When I told my PCP I don't want to do colonoscopy, she didn't push. A stool exam will suffice. But when I said I didn't want to do anymore mammograms, she pushed and pushed (she's seen lives saved, there's less false positives now) and scare tactics (surgery! radiation! chemo! death!!) I was there for a routine exam. I only went because if I didn't, she wouldn't renew my RX for Valtrex. I did get a pap smear. She did a manual breast exam, then said she felt something suspicious. She showed me so I could feel it. Hmm...a small firm lump in my right breast near the nipple. No pain or discomfort upon palpitation. She wants me to get a mammogram and an ultrasound.
In the past, she's been ready to prescribe pills when I wanted physical therapy, or indicated I prefer to make lifestyle or diet changes. Let's face the facts. There's $$$$ in prescribing pills and referring for tests, especially if those tests lead to even more tests or procedures, necessary or not. Not much $$$ in telling people to eat healthy food and exercise.
I find it interesting, and sad, that most Dr.s are ready to push pills and procedures on you, but not push people to eat healthy and exercise.
I don't trust the modern medical community. Most Dr.s are ok at treating illness, not helping prevent it. They get very brief instruction in nutrition.
So, I'm just going to self-monitor that little lump which is most likely harmless. I'm going to die from something someday, but I don't want to spend my last years and all my money on drugs, which are often a SOURCE of illness, and procedures. If I'm not ready to do that, then why screen for it?
I'm going to try to live a healthy lifestyle and take my chances.
If you go looking hard enough for problems, you will find them.
Angel
I respect each persons opinion.... There are times in life when we are convinced that modern medicine is for the birds!
At 62 yrs & having worked in medical field.... I must say that most M.D.s are not going to promote diet & nutrition as a cure for Cancer...& Rightly So....not as a Cure .....Certainly do All you can to eat & live a Healthy Balanced Diet rich in Super "Foods"... I mean Real Food....!!!!& get in some exercise regularly; Life is tough; Enjoy Life, Love one another
Do not discount modern medicine totally; when u try to cure an ailment w naturally sensible alternative & you are still sick...... Go to the Doctor & take your medicine & thank God for their knowledge.......Actually the 1st & wisest actions would be to Accept Jesus as your personal Lord & Saviour.... Walk intimately with Him because He Desires that close loving relationship while He is still The Majestic Holy God..., made possible through the Holy Spirit.... .He is the friend that is closest to you..Only He, Our Creator knows what we truly need......At 39 yrs old I found a lump in my breast... I went to my OBGYN Dr & he was not able to feel anything; he suggested that I return in 6 wks .... At that time it had grown he was able to feel it... did mammogram & was horrified to find a 3cm. solid mass......long story short, it was cancerous; I made sure to get 3 opinions for suggestioned route to take...you don't want to get down the road & realize oops, I should have done this differently ..... Here is where you need the prayers of friends; " brethren " the Bible calls our brothers & sisters who also are "In Christ "& More than that, The leadership of The Holy Spirit of Truth..!!!! He confirmed to my husband & I that lumpectomy, & chemo, followed by radiation treatment was needed.... How priceless was His leadership day by day!!!! Oh by the way, during that 6 wk wait before re-exam, the cancer policy that I had recently taken out became Active & paid out to us dollars that really helped take the financial strain out of the picture....
I thank God for His Perfect Timing...!!!!& No it wasn't fun or easy or without some normal fear & worry...... But Thank God for modern medicine that Can Kill Cancer!!!! A friend of mine also going through Breast Cancer did not have Radiation Treatment following her chemo & I still wonder if she had been advised to have it, would she be alive today.......& I hate mammograms!!!! But the specialist I see has equipment that is top of the line....the exposure to radiation is no more than using a cellphone........ But I give God the credit for saving my life & healing my body....which did include dietary changes "After treatment was completed "...... ( I also had undergone a total hysterectomy just 9 mo before Cancer in which my ovaries were also removed!!!! Greatly decreasing my estrogen levels !!!! & danger of reoccurrence ) have an annual mammogram! See a specialist & have 2 simple blood tests to see if you are genetically susceptible!!!!!!)
Patti Bradfield
I don't know if anyone is still following this great article, but.....I have another theory.
I have been following 100's of women since 2003 with Inflammatory Breast Cancer.
I stopped counting years ago after hearing the same thing, "I was fine until I had my mammo, then my arm and breast swelled up, now I have IBC"
Dormant cells awakened by 'smashing' the breast? I for one have had 2 operations AFTER my 2 mammo's. Both were busted cysts from the pressure of the machine.
I have argued till I'm angry that no one will listen.
Not trying to be rude, but....I wonder how many men would end up with testicular cancer if their testies were subjected to the 'smashing' we have to endure to our breasts. I am 72 and refuse to have a mammogram anymore.
moselle
I agree. The last mammogram I had was so painful I had burns on my chest . I tell the drs. No more. When I chose an ultrasound as an alternative I had to pay huge money and was lectured by the technicians about my so called poor decision. But did it anyway. The so called preventative mammograms promoted by the health care insurance companies seems the standard but doesn’t work for me.
deborah
Dr's tell me about the test they want to run because Im in my 50;s and I tell them no. No Mams, pap, colon, blood work etc,....I opt out on all of them and they arent too happy with me about 'my' choice. Im only passing thru this life.
Grace Del Vecchio
Thank you for this opinion piece. I strongly agree that each of us should do our own research and come to an individual decision as to whether a mammogram is a preventive course of action or it increases risk for one's health.
I have done enough research for myself to know that I will not have a mammogram. And, I am confident enough to state this to my health care provider...who immediately went into all the scare tactics to get me to do it. It became a personal attack to this health care provider. I guess that reinforced my decision.
As I am witnessing here in the comments, why is it a personal attack on your beliefs if I choose to take an alternative route to you? How am I hurting you by sharing my decisions? It seems odd to me that veering from the Western medical (very, very young) science is so wrong. I see natural methods of healing dismissed even if it has worked for thousands of years. I see people ridiculed and ostracized for sharing life saving information because they are not part of the big business.
I am comfortable with whatever choice another person makes about their health and want the same freedoms for myself
Catherine
Well said. I agree with you Grace 100%!
I don't think there's any reasons to be threatened by another's opinion...
Abundantly,
Catherine
Karen G
My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at 43. She had a mammogram, they saw nothing. She felt the lump herself. She had a biopsy. Yes, she had cancer. She decided to remove the breast, go through radiation & chemo. It worked or so she thought. It came back 5 years later in multiple organs. She tried every chemo treatment they offered. The side effects were awful. She fought for 4 1/2 years. I lost her because her liver & kidneys shut down. Her oncologist wasn’t happy when I said “Thank you, Chemotherapy”.
That was 12 years ago, I am now 48. Never had a mammogram. People tell me I’m crazy. I watch my diet, take CBD Oil, Vitamin D3, Turmeric, etc. I will never get a mammogram. I do believe western medicine is what is making us sick. Go natural! You’ll live longer.
Allyson Turner
Two thumbs up to you, my friend. Sorry for your loss, but happy for your gain - insight that will keep you whole.
Sandra Black
Not sure what to make of this article .. I've just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I'm 63 and always been of the mind to not go looking for things ..in other words burying my head in the sand. My brother died last year of prostate cancer and this year I decided to go for my first mammogram which proved positive. It's less than a centimeter so has a good prognosis. This blog seems to suggest I should ignore doctors advice and it will recede all by itself ..isn't that dangerous advice? From research I've done so far ignoring it will allow it to grow, possibly into my lymph nodes and from there to my liver ..in fact late stage breast cancer has done just that, I thought I was lucky to have caught it early ..very confusing to hear what you are advising ...ignore it and it will go away?
Vicki Niethe
You should read the article again, it is her opinion like all others.
Rust
Reading this now, after 3 years of the whole Covid mess and what we have learned about not only the medical community but also profit-driven big pharma, I suspect that many eyes have been opened to the truth about these and other procedures, and have begun to realize that the cash cow is what we are feeding with allopathic medicine, instead of betterment of our health.
Count me 100% onboard with your position on mammograms.
And while I am here I will mention colonoscopies also. ~16 million colonoscopies are performed each year in the US at costs of up to $4800 per, yet according to the latest published study (link below), "The study marks the first time colonoscopies have been compared head-to-head to no cancer screening in a randomized trial. The study found only meager benefits for the group of people invited to get the procedure: an 18% lower risk of getting colorectal cancer, and no significant reduction in the risk of cancer death. It was published Sunday in The New England Journal of Medicine."
My faith and trust in the medical community is gone and will never return. The handling of Covid has shown that we are and have been being lied to for many many years. Catherine's method of maintaining health by nutrition and good lifestyle choices remains a much healthier and reasonable approach.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/09/health/colonoscopy-cancer-death-study
My nurse practitioner has pushed and pushed for me to submit to both a colonoscopy and a mammogram but I hold firm in my refusal. She still believes in the efficacy of these procedures but reluctantly admitted to me she is not vaxxed and will never be. Her eyes are opening slowly. With sites like this one, hopefully many more will be opened also.
Patti
I just wanted to say that I could not agree with you more. And recently had an uncomfortable experience at the doctor's office. My new doctor looked at me like I had an absolutely lost my mind when I said I wasn't interested in getting a mammogram or a bone density test. She literally stopped as we were walking up front and turned and looked at me with that oh my God are you crazy look. I told her I can give her lots of information if she's interested about why I don't believe those things are a good idea. But she wasn't interested. My insurance is through Medicare which limits me of course to what kind of doctors I can choose. It's that way for all of us on medicare. But thank goodness I know how to be my own best advocate. Thanks for getting the word out about this kind of stuff. People need to know the truth.