Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Mammograms Don't Save Lives


If you are a woman you might want to question your relationship with mammograms. The latest nail in the coffin of the efficacy of mammograms just came through the New England Journal of Medicine.   The conclusion is that mammograms do not make a significant difference in saving lives.  Strangely this is not new news. It is old news. The problem is  that this juggernaut is a hard thing to stop. Medicine is an industrial complex and is loosely associated with science. Once a practice becomes entrenched, often not based on rigorous science, and many people's livelihoods depend on it, the truth becomes very inconvenient. In addition to the lack of effectiveness, there is also the very real fact that mammography is radiation, and  it is increasing the risk of the very same disease it is purported to reduce. Every exposure to radiation is cumulative and matters. Women might want to start looking at Thermography, which is harmless and more sensitive, thus more effective at picking up early changes in breast tissue.

Now you can show your doctor why you question mammography without being made to feel like a simpleton. Use the link to the actual study or the well written NY Times article about the topic by David Newman,  M.D.
 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/ignoring-the-science-on-mammograms/?hpw