HEALTH: Mammograms: What For, Exactly?

[Guest guest]

Mammograms: What For, Exactly?

By Ben Kim, D.C.

 

If you're still going for a mammogram screening once every year or two

years, please consider the following:

 

1. A routine mammogram screening typically involves four x-rays, two per

breast. This amounts to more than 1000 times the amount of radiation

that is used for a single chest x-ray. Bottom line: screening mammograms

send a strong dose of ionizing radiation through your tissues. Any dose

of ionizing radiation is capable of contributing to cancer and heart

disease.

 

2. Screening mammograms increase the risk of developing cancer in

premenopausal women.

 

3. Screening mammograms require breast tissue to be squeezed firmly

between two plates. This compressive force can damage small blood

vessels which can result in existing cancerous cells spreading to other

areas of the body.

 

4. Cancers that exist in premenopausal women with dense breast tissue

and in postmenopausal women on estrogen replacement therapy are commonly

undetected by screening mammograms.

 

5. For women who have a family history of breast cancer and early onset

of menstruation, the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer with

screening mammograms when no cancer actually exists can be as high as

100 percent.

 

A large-scale screening study published in September of 2000 by

epidemiologists at the University of Toronto revealed that monthly

breast self-examination following brief training, coupled with an annual

clinical breast examination by a trained health care professional, is at

least as effective as mammography in detecting early tumors, and also safe.

 

Since we know that properly performed breast exams are just as effective

at detecting early tumours as mammography, how can we justify the use of

screening mammograms when we know that all forms of ionizing radiation

increase the risk of developing cancer and heart disease?

 

With all of the controversy surrounding the usefulness of mammograms,

it's easy to lose focus of what's really important: what are you going

to do if you develop breast cancer?

 

If you rely on the recommendations of a conventional health care

provider, you are likely to begin with surgery and follow it up with

chemotherapy and/or radiation.

 

About three years ago, a family friend asked for my help after she was

diagnosed with breast cancer. After reviewing her records and

understanding her situation, I told her that I thought it was a good

idea to go ahead and have her tumour surgically removed and then to make

significant changes to her daily food choices to support her recovery. I

also told her that in no circumstances would I recommend that she have

chemotherapy or radiation after surgery.

 

Shortly after having surgery, she called to tell me that her family

doctor was strongly recommending that she see a specialist for

chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

 

I gave her doctor a call and asked him why he was recommending

chemotherapy and radiation. His reply was that his recommendation was in

line with the standards of practice outlined by the College (of

Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario), and that if he didn't make this

recommendation, he could be sued for malpractice.

 

Although I was a bit startled by his reasoning, I went on to ask him

what sort of dietary recommendations he planned on giving his patient to

help support her recovery. " Well, there's no evidence that diet has any

effect on breast cancer, so she can eat anything she wants, " he responded.

 

Although I was already well aware of some of the big problems in our

health care system, talking with this doctor firmly convinced me that

the average person with no medical background has a solid chance of

being killed by medical treatments rather than passing on from natural,

degenerative causes. Does this sound like an obvious statement to you?

If not, please spend some time reading through our articles archive to

learn how to take care of your own health.

 

With screening mammograms and all other screening and diagnostic tests,

you owe it to yourself to always ask: what will I do if this test comes

back positive? Hopefully, your research will lead you to learning about

how everyday food and lifestyle choices are the main determinants of

your health. Why wait for a mammogram, x-ray, or blood test to bring bad

news before you begin to take care of your health each day?

 

Perhaps you'll learn to experience the power and freedom that come with

forgetting about many of the screening measures out there and instead,

using your time and energy to prepare more nutritious meals, get more

rest, work on worthwhile projects, and spend meaningful and fun times

with family and friends.

 

Getting back to our family friend with breast cancer, she spent an

entire year following her surgery eating a nutrient-dense, mainly raw,

plant-based diet. She made and drank fresh vegetable juices everyday.

She took a high quality probiotic on a daily basis. I did acupuncture

treatments for her on a regular basis to strengthen her immune system.

About six months following her surgery, she added raw, organic eggs to

her diet three times a week. One year following her surgery, she added

wild fish and cod liver oil to her diet. She made sure that she got

plenty of fresh air and sunshine whenever she could. She took time off

of work and spent time every day praying and reading the Bible and other

inspiration books. Through it all, we continuously worked at making sure

that her tissues were not faced with excess estrogen and estrogen-like

compounds.

 

It has been three years now since her initial diagnosis of breast

cancer, and I'm grateful to report that even her medical doctor declares

her to be free of cancer.

 

 

Related Articles:

Points to Consider Before Taking Another X-ray

http://drbenkim.com/articles-xrays.html

 

Exercising True Prevention

http://drbenkim.com/articles-prevention.html

 

The Importance of Friendly Intestinal Bacteria

http://drbenkim.com/articles-probiotics.html

 

Please note: The information on mammograms at the top of this article is

from an article written by Samuel Epstein, M.D.

 

Also, a good pictorial guide to performing a breast self-examination can

be found here.

http://www.breastcancer.org/breast_exam_picture.html

 

 

http://drbenkim.com/articles-mammograms.html

 

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