Mammography Statistics
Statistically speaking, most health experts have the same opinion when it comes to risking breast cancer for women who are younger than 35 since it is not worth taking the chance with radiation exposure. Also, the number of women over 55 with breast cancer makes mammograms worth it. The statistics about mammography that are most debatable are those regarding women between 40 and 55 years of age. National Breast Cancer Research done in Canada in 1992 revealed that mammography didn’t help females between 40 and 50 years old live longer. As a matter of fact, research appeared to imply that females around this age have the probability of dying from breast cancer when they are tested on a regular basis.
In Burton Goldberg’s book, Alternative Medicine, it is recommended that women avoid screening mammograms until they reach the age of 50, whereas the American Cancer Society recommends that women aged 40 to 49 receive mammograms every two years. Attempting to find answers to this debate, a 1997 consensus group created by the NIH decided that there wasn’t any proof the mammograms help people in this age range preserve their lives; this might actually hurt them more than it helps. The group suggests that females discuss the risks with their physicians and make their own choice.
New Screening Technologies
Even though screening is critical in battling breast cancer, alternatives to mammography are being sought. Burton Goldberg promotes the lack of risk and accuracy of the new breast thermography technologies. With the ability to identify cancer at the early stages of progression, thermography doesn’t need x-rays, and the breast doesn’t have to be squeezed. Also worthwhile, current thermography technologies are not affected by thick breast tissue, and this means that there is less of a chance of having a false positive outcome.
Several doctors are currently doing digital mammograms. Digital mammography is a technique where x-ray film is substituted with solid state indicators that change x-rays into electric signals. Digital mammography still uses radiation but in much smaller amounts. It is possible to electronically manipulate the images that are produced by the electrical signals, allowing a doctor to enlarge, zoom in, and optimize various parts of breast tissue without obtaining another image.
