Contrary to how mammograms are presented to women by the corporate medical community, they remain quite controversial within the national and global medical and scientific communities. One subject thousands of scientists and medical doctors agree on, is the short-comings of the standard ethical informed consent provided to women. This leads to a lack of legitimate understanding by women of what a mammogram can and cannot tell them about the state of their breasts, and the benefits versus harms that can result from mammograms. Ultimately, whether or not a mammogram is the right screening method for you is up to YOU, but only when you have all of the information you need to assess this choice. Otherwise with selective information and understanding, you are herded to serve the good of another entity besides yourself.
This website as well as the information authored on this website is put together by
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM.
He provides truly powerful information that doctors working within the corporate establishment do not (cannot) provide. This website is one of my go to's for health information.
*** This information is not incentivized by big pharma and the lobby system, corporate medicine, or government.***
I think I do a pretty good job in the video explaining why I decided to take on this topic. There’s just so much confusion, combined with the corrupting commercial interests of a billion-dollar industry. As with any important health decision, everyone should be fully informed of the risks and benefits, and make up their own mind about their own bodies. This is why I created this 14-part video series.
This 14 part mammogram series put together by Dr. Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM is powerful and informative.
You are sure to get the truthful information you need to make your own decisions on whether mammograms are right for you.
THIS IS A GREAT ARTICLE WRITTEN BY THE BREAST CANCER PREVENTION PARTNERS
ON IONIZING RADIATION WITH AN IMPRESSIVE LIST OF REFERENCES AND AN ESPECIALLY IMPRESSIVE SCIENCE ADVISORY PANEL.
ALL MAMMOGRAMS USE IONIZING RADIATION, SO IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF IONIZING RADIATION BEFORE CONSENTING TO A MAMMOGRAM.
And the next time a doctor tells you that there are no health risks to mammograms or any other medical test that uses ionizing radiation, you will know where to file that information in your thoughts and decisions.
The United States is one of the only countries in the world that recommends annual mammograms – with the majority of countries recommending one mammogram every two years.
FOR THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.bcpp.org/resource/ionizing-radiation/
BELOW ARE EXERPTS RELATING TO BREAST HEALTH
Ionizing Radiation - Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP)Ionizing radiation is any form of radiation with enough energy to break off electrons from atoms (meaning to ionize the atoms). This radiation can break the chemical bonds in molecules, including DNA molecules, thereby disturbing their normal functioning. X-rays and gamma rays are the only major forms of radiation with sufficient energy to penetrate and damage body tissue below the surface of the skin.
Exposure to ionizing radiation is the best-established and longest-established environmental cause of human breast cancer in both men and women. Most scientists agree that no safe dose of radiation has been identified.[1],[2] Repeated low-dose exposures over time may have the same harmful effects as a single high-dose exposure.
The link between radiation exposure and breast cancer has been demonstrated in survivors of the atomic bombing in Japan, particularly among women who were younger than 20 when the bombs were dropped.[3],[4],[5],[6], The effect of radiation exposure was especially strong for women whose age of menarche was 12 or younger and who were exposed by age 20.
Ionizing radiation can increase the risk for breast cancer by a number of different mechanisms, including direct mutagenesis, genome instability[8],[9] and changes in breast cell micro-environments that can lead to damaged regulation of cell-cell interactions within the breast.
Ionizing radiation not only affects cells that are directly exposed, but can alter the DNA, cell growth and cell-cell interactions of neighboring cells, a phenomenon referred to as the “bystander eff
Ionizing radiation not only affects cells that are directly exposed, but can alter the DNA, cell growth and cell-cell interactions of neighboring cells, a phenomenon referred to as the “bystander effect.”
Although there has been a substantial decrease in exposures to ionizing radiation from individual X-rays over the past several decades, there has been a six-fold increase in overall exposure to medical sources of radiation.[20],[21] A recent estimate of all cancers attributable to medical radiation exposures in France found that the largest number was for breast cancer.[22]
Recent evidence indicates that the lower-energy X-rays provided by mammography resulted in substantially greater damage to DNA than would be predicted, and the effects of these exposures may be greatly underestimated when it comes to the risk of breast cancer.[33] For example, women who had multiple mammograms more than five years prior to diagnosis and started before age 35 had an increased risk of breast cancer.[34] Diagnostic radiation has been shown to increase risk for developing breast cancer in a dose-dependent manner for women who are BRCA positive and therefore more sensitive to radiation.
Decades of research have confirmed the link between radiation and breast cancer in women who were irradiated for many different medical conditions, from tuberculosis[23] to benign breast disease[24],[25] and even acne.[26] Evidence from almost all conditions suggests that exposure to ionizing radiation during childhood and adolescence is particularly dangerous with respect to increased risk for breast cancer later in life,[27],[28],[29] and that there is a significant dose-response relationship between the dosage of childhood radiation and the increased incidence of breast cancer.
When a CT scan is directed at the chest, the individual receives radiation equivalent to 30 to 442 chest X-rays.[31] Other modeling suggests that 1 in 150 women who are 20 years old when they undergo CT angiograms of the chest, and 1 in 270 women of all ages having the procedure, will subsequently develop cancers of the chest, including breast cancer.
Researchers discovered a 16-fold increased relative risk of angiosarcoma (cancer of a blood vessel) in the breast and chest wall following irradiation of a primary breast cancer.[36] More recent data indicate that women younger than 45 who received the higher radiation exposure associated with post-lumpectomy radiotherapy had about a twofold increase in later contralateral breast cancer diagnoses. This effect was especially prominent in younger women with a significant family history of breast cancer.
Male breast cancer is relatively rare, but multiple exposures of men to medical radiation when they were young leads to a significant increase in risk for developing breast cancer several decades later.
Backscatter machines were put in place prior to a 2012 study that estimated that for every 2 million young girls who traveled by airplane once a week, one would develop breast cancer as a result.[41] In 2013, backscatter machines were removed from airports due to privacy concerns (not health concerns). Most airports now use millimeter wave screening, which does not use ionizing radiation.
Several factors interact with radiation to increase the potency of its carcinogenic effects:
Age at exposure, genetic profile, and possibly estrogen levels.
Direct exposure to radiation through military work or other occupations (listed above).
Accidental or medical exposure to radiation more seriously affects children and adolescents than adults, with a greater chance of increasing their risk for breast cancer later in life
CT angiography has been shown to cause a significant increase in risk of developing breast cancer, especially in pre-menopausal women.
The effects of radiation on mammary carcinogenesis may be additive with effects of estrogens, as suggested by studies using human breast tumor cells in animals.
This is highly concerning due to the exposure levels of estrogen-mimicking chemicals in our environment.
Everyone should be aware of the potential health hazards of ionizing radiation, but some women are more vulnerable than others to its health effects. Women carrying the BRCA1 mutation have deficits in many cell processes and a heightened sensitivity to the effects of radiation exposures.[48] These women are more likely to develop breast cancer and may be especially susceptible to the cancer-inducing effects of exposure to ionizing.[49],[50],[52],[51] This is especially true if women began exposures, including from mammography, at age 30 or earlier.
The detrimental risks from mammography might also be heightened in older women, whose breast epithelial cells have gone through several decades of cell division. Cells derived from older women’s breast tissue were more sensitive to the DNA-damaging effects of low-energy radiation, increasing the likelihood of later conversion to cancerous cells.[
However, a recent laboratory study in rats indicates that having given birth and lactating the young was protective against development of breast cancers—especially ER+/PR+ tumors–in animals that had been exposed to radiation before puberty. This protective effect was not found if the animals had been exposed to the radiation as young adults.
Discuss with your medical care team whether or not X-rays or CT scans are necessary and whether there are radiation-free alternatives. If you decide to seek out a second opinion, request that the original screening information be shared, to minimize the need for a second set of exposures if they are not necessary.
Workers should follow recommended health and safety guidelines when working with any type of radiation, whether administering the radiation or taking part in a procedure where radiation is used.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended against the use of routine mammography screening before the age of 50 [56],[57] but supported the use of biennial screening between the ages of 50 and 75. Discuss with your doctor when you should begin regular mammograms, and how often they should be done, based on your individual family history and risk for breast cancer.
Thermograms are a legitimate breast screening method used by thousands of medical doctors and practitioners because it tells a story about your breasts that has great value. It is a "no harm done" screening method that emits zero harmful ionized radiation and zero compression. Comparing mammograms to thermograms is akin to comparing apples to oranges, so let's take a look at the story a thermogram can tell you about your breasts and how the information it can provide can serve you and your breast-care and health decisions.
There are two different kinds of breast literacy. Having a firm grasp of each one can benefit your breast wellness decisions differently. (1) The first type of literacy is understanding your breasts' physiology. We don't need to be medical doctors to have a foundational understanding of what is inside our breasts. This powerful knowledge can give you a picture of how to care for your breasts, where and when they might need daily support, as well as how to use touch and massage for optimal health benefits. (2) The second type of literacy is one of breast touch. Your fingertips are like little computers. They have the ability to remember texture, shape, temperatures and sensations/soreness that you would not otherwise be able to identify. This type of literacy does NOT come overnight or with touching your breasts once a month. It is a learned literacy and with daily practice (just like with reading) this skill can be fine- tuned. Touching your breasts once a month or every two months can create fear and uncertainty because it results in alack and of understanding and familiarity of the natural ambiance and cycles of your breast tissue.
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