Two Birds Thermography
Please visit the websites listed below for more information about breast thermography. Great article by fellow New Mexican Marilynn Preston --
http://health.heraldtribune.com/2012/11/12/thermograms-a-mammogram-alternative-2/
“The psychological cost of becoming a cancer patient is underrated,” said Dr. Silvia C. Formenti, the chairwoman of radiation oncology at New York University Langone Medical Center states. "Elderly patients who would likely not die from a slow growing tumor, get a diagnosis that erodes their peace of mind forever." (New York Times 11/3/09 Quandry With Mammograms: Get a Screening or Just Skip It? Denise Grady)
“Overdiagnosis is pure, unadulterated harm.” Dr Barnett Kramer, associate director for disease prevention at the National institutes of Health. (New York Times 10/21/09 Cancer Society, in Shift, Has Concerns on Screenings Gina Kolata)
For every 1000 healthy women who undergo yearly mammos, about half will have a stressful false positive within 10 years. And 180 will undergo a biopsy. (New York Times 10/22/09 Benefits and Risks of Cancer Screening Are Not Always Clear, Experts Say Tara Parker-Pope)
"Patients are not aware that there are risks associated with cancer screening” said Dr. Terese Bevers medical director of the cancer prevention center at university of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “We need to have more conversations with our patients about that.” (New York Times 10/22/09 Benefits and Risks of Cancer Screening Are Not Always Clear, Experts Say Tara Parker-Pope)
“More research and more consensus conferences if held, would only confirm what we already know. It probably still wouldn’t be enough to convince many people we are screening too much.” Robert Aronowitz, an internist and professor of the history and sociology of science at the University of Pennsylvania is the author of “Unnatural History: Breast Cancer and American Society.” (New York Times 11/20/09 Addicted To Mammograms Robert Aronowitz)
“In European countries screening every other year, breast cancer death rates are no higher than in the US.” Stated by Dr. Susan Love, a breast surgeon and researcher in Santa Monica, CA (New York Times 11/3/09 Quandry With Mammograms: Get a Screening or Just Skip It? Denise Grady)
1971- The first large scale randomized trial of screening mammography found that it saved the lives only of women aged 50+. Despite evidence, doctors continued screening women in their 40’s. (New York Times 11/20/09 Addicted To Mammograms Robert Aronowitz)
1977- An official of the National Cancer Institute voiced concern that women in their 40’s are getting too much radiation from unnecessary screening. The National Institutes of Health held a consensus conference on mammography which concluded that most women should wait until 50 for regular screenings. (New York Times 11/20/09 Addicted To Mammograms Robert Aronowitz)
Dr. Laura J. Esserman, a breast surgeon from the University of California, San Francisco authored a report in The Journal of American Medical Association on October, 21 2009. Dr. Esserman described cancers as slow, medium or fast in growth rate and aggressiveness. She said screening (Mammography) was good at finding slow growing cancers not needing treatment, but may not catch aggressive and deadly cancers leading to overtreatment of small cancers. Finding innocuous cancers that need no treatment has increased reported rates of breast cancer. Screening is not changing the death rate in deadly fast growing cancers. Many lethal cancers grow so fast, they become detectable between mammograms. Mammography is unclear which cancers need aggressive treatment and which can be left alone. Evidence is lacking for a benefit in screening women from 40-50, unless they are high risk or have a mutation in the gene BRCA. Younger women are less likely to have cancer and more likely to have dense breasts requiring multiple mammograms. For them, it’s “radiation without much benefit” said Dr. Esserman. (New York Times 11/3/09 Quandry With Mammograms: Get a Screening or Just Skip It? Denise Grady)
The very idea that some cancers are not dangerous and some might actually go away on their own can be hard to swallow, researchers say. “It is so counterintuitive that it raises debate every time it comes up and every time it has been observed, “ said Dr. Barnett Kramer, associate director for disease prevention at the National Institutes of Health. (New York Times 10/21/09 Cancer Society, in Shift, Has Concerns on Screenings Gina Kolata)
Studies suggest some patients are enduring aggressive treatment for cancers that could have gone undetected for a lifetime without hurting them. At the same time, some cancers found through screening and treated in the earliest stages still end up being deadly. (New York Times 10/22/09 Benefits and Risks of Cancer Screening Are Not Always Clear, Experts Say Tara Parker-Pope)
Overdiagnosis and overtreatment as a result of cancer screening are a major concern. It is estimated for every 100 women who have cancer, 30 have cancers that are so slow-growing they are unlikely to be life-threatening. (New York Times 10/22/09 Benefits and Risks of Cancer Screening Are Not Always Clear, Experts Say Tara Parker-Pope)
The American Cancer Society issued statement “Mammography can miss cancers that need treatment and in some cases finds disease that does not need treatment.” (New York Times 10/21/09 Cancer Society, in Shift, Has Concerns on Screenings Gina Kolata)
You would have to screen 1000 women ages 50 and older for 10 years in order to avert 1 death. When compared to a similar group of women who are not screened. (New York Times 10/22/09 Benefits and Risks of Cancer Screening Are Not Always Clear, Experts Say Tara Parker-Pope)
You would have to screen 1900 women in their 40’s for 10 years in order to avert 1 death. In that process you will have generated more than 1000 false positive screens and all the overtreatment they entail. (New York Times 11/20/09 Addicted To Mammograms Robert Aronowitz)
There is a misconception that screening equals prevention. This has been exaggerated. More screening does not prevent cancer. “It’s a giant misconception.” Says Dr. Formenti (New York Times 11/3/09 Quandry With Mammograms: Get a Screening or Just Skip It? Denise Grady)
“The benefits are less and the harms are greater when mammogram screening starts in the 40’s.” Dr.Diana Petitti, vice chair of the Federal Preventative Services Task Force assigned to research risks and benefits of mammograms (New Mexican 11/17/09 New Report: Wait Until 50 For Mammogram AP, page A-2)
