I found this article recently when I was researching mammograms because of a rather large lump I have. I've always wondered if mammograms may cause cancer themselves (you're getting radiated after all), and this article rings of truth to me. I will not get another mammogram. I've had one before, and a lump removed (much smaller than the one I have now, and in the same breast), and it turned out to be benign. I've never understood the point of them doing all the scans they did on my breast (I'm small-breasted and they were having problems getting the mass to show, I guess), when it didn't tell them anything I didn't already know (that I had a lump). Why couldn't/didn't they find out if the lump was cancerous or not before doing unnecessary surgery on me?
Anyway, I'm going to paste the first part of the article below and you can read the rest at
http://www.draxe.com/mammograms-cause-cancer/, would love to hear any thoughts on it.
Quote:
The United States Preventive Services (USPS) Task Force recently released a recommendation that women in their 40’s should NOT have yearly mammograms. This recommendation obviously conflicts with those of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and other groups.
But many people wonder if the ACS recommendations aren’t some form of recruitment. After all, five radiologists have served as presidents of the American Cancer Society.
The American College of Physicians, however, made recommendations similar to the USPS a couple of years ago and the National Breast Cancer Coalition has routinely warned women of the limitations and potential for harm that mammograms hold.
The USPS Task Force found that “Radiation-related breast cancers occur at least 10 years after exposure. Radiation from yearly mammograms during ages 40-49 has been estimated to cause one additional breast cancer death per 10,000 women.”
The National Cancer Institute states that among women under 35, mammography could cause 75 cases of breast cancer for every 15 it identifies.
There’s really very little reason to have regular mammograms and plenty of reasons not to.
Dangers of Mammography
Mammograms expose your body to radiation 1,000 times greater than a chest x-ray. Alternative Medicine magazine says, “Their ionizing radiation mutates cells, and the mechanical pressure can spread cells that are already malignant (as can biopsies).”
..........
|