As a woman who is approaching her 45th birthday, I should have had 3-5 mammograms already according to the recommendations of conventional medicine. Well, guess what? I’ve never had one and I don’t intend to ever have one (thank you for your wisdom, Mom). The dirty little secret is that a single screening mammogram exposes you to 1,000 times the radiation of a single chest xray! If you find this shocking and hard to believe as I did, then research the facts for yourself. Beware, though. Your doctor will most likely deny this vehemently. They will swear to you that a mammogram exposes you to trivial amounts of radiation. Don’t take their word for it. Research both sides of the issue and come to your own conclusions.
Dr. Samuel Epstein MD, one of the world’s top cancer experts estimates that up to 20% of all breast cancers diagnosed in the United States annually are actually linked to the cumulative radiation effects of mammograms! Another major problem with mammograms is the compression factor which serves to spread any breast cancer that may be present.
As early as 1928, physicians were warned to handle “cancerous breasts with care– for fear of accidentally disseminating cells” and spreading cancer (7). Nevertheless, mammography entails tight and often painful compression of the breast, particularly in premenopausal women. This may lead to distant and lethal spread of malignant cells by rupturing small blood vessels in or around small, as yet undetected breast cancers. (1)
Best Mammogram Alternatives
So, what do you do if you are over 40 and want to safely screen for breast cancer? There is now a safe alternative to mammograms called thermography that can screen for the vascular changes associated with breast cancer.
What to do if you have a thermogram and it detects a suspicious mass? At this point, you will need get a breast cancer ultrasound. Usually, doctors will not order an ultrasound without a mammogram. If that is your situation, the company Herscan will do it for you without a prescription.
The truth about mammograms as a significant contributor to breast cancer will gradually become more widely known and eventually, the tide of public opinion will force their removal as a breast cancer screening test. This finally happened with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), but it took 40 years for the truth to finally come out. When the truth about mammography madness finally makes the Evening News, make sure you aren’t one of the women who look back and regret not stopping sooner! By then, it could be too late for you. If you have read this blog, you now know the truth, so act on it.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I'm 51 and have been feeling guilty about not having a mammogram–but scared to have one because–well I broke my hip when I was 10 and since this was caused in part by a bone weakness that could turn malignant till I stopped growing–I was xrayed at least once a year until I was 16–then again in my 20s for several months when I had a stress fracture. I figure I have had more than enough radiation for one life. More people need to start speaking out about this. I have a friend from my teens who was just diagnosed with breast cancer (52) and I am pretty sure she has had the yearly mammogram–still the cancer was pretty advanced and they are going back in to take the lymph-nodes in two weeks. The yearly mammogram didn't really help her at all.
Thank you for this! I am 40 and recently went to the doctor to get all my routine blood work done. And then she said, “oh and you’re 40 now so it’s time to start getting mammograms!” and wrote up an order for one. Every fiber of my being was screaming NO this cannot be good for me. I am hoping to still have another baby and feel like all the compression is rather invasive and violent to a breast that is still in it’s lactating years. Maybe that’s nuts, but your post makes me feel like it isn’t!
Hello,
Thank you for your articles on alternatives to Mammogrammy. I read in your posts that one mammogram is equivalent in radiation to 1000 chest X-rays. Do you have the research to back that up? I would really b interested in reading it as I have been unsuccessful in finding that documentation on my own.
Thanks so much.
Yes, see the credible sources linked in the article.
Dr. Samuel Epstein, one of the world’s top cancer experts, has stated:
“The premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure increasing breast cancer risk by about 1 percent, with a cumulative 10 percent increased risk for each breast over a decade’s screening.”
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/03/experts-say-avoid-mammograms.aspx
So are the “experts” saying don’t get a mammogram even if you have a lump? What do you do if you get an ultrasound for a lump but it’s inconclusive?