By Dr. Mercola
Lately, the Harvard College of Public Well being shook the most cancers business when it revealed analysis exhibiting that mammograms might not solely be inappropriate for breast most cancers screening, however may very well contribute to vital overdiagnosis of most cancers that in any other case would have remained innocenti.
In line with lead writer Mette Kalagerii :
“Mammography may not be acceptable to be used in breast most cancers screening as a result of it can not distinguish between progressive and non-progressive most cancers…
Radiologists have been skilled to search out even the smallest of tumors in a bid to detect as many cancers as attainable to have the ability to treatment breast most cancers.
Nevertheless, the current research provides to the growing physique of proof that this observe has brought on an issue for ladies—prognosis of breast most cancers that would not trigger signs or dying.”
When the scientists additionally instructed that girls have to know the potential hurt of mammography errors, the American Faculty of Radiology and Society of Breast Imaging had been fast to accuse Harvard’s research of being flawed.
However as increasingly more girls come ahead with tales of how they’ve misplaced their breasts and undergone grueling most cancers therapies because of overzealous screening, it is obvious the Harvard group is aware of what they’re speaking about.
A Case in Level…
The Harvard research, launched April 3, 2012, reinforces the story of one of many literature researchers that work for this text, whom I discussed in an article on most cancers final yr. She was recognized with breast most cancers in 2010, and scheduled for a number of months of chemotherapy and radiation when she sought a second opinion at a famend most cancers institute. There, she realized chemo was inappropriate as a result of her sort of most cancers does not reply to it.
“Since chemo is poison, why would we need to poison you for no purpose?” the oncologist advised her.
Now she’s agreed to let me inform the remainder of her story—one that could be a excellent instance of what Dr. Kalager was alluding to. Due to its flaws, mammography can result in an overzealous seek for attainable most cancers, overdiagnosis and, finally, pointless medical procedures for one thing that, left alone, might by no means have developed into most cancers in any respect.
After all the breast imaging business wasted no time firing off a scathing response to the researcher’s feedbackiii. However as I mentioned, my worker’s story illustrates the research’s central thesis precisely: {that a} rising physique of proof is exhibiting that mammography could also be doing extra hurt than good for a large number of girls.
A Teeny Tiny Dot—Adopted by a Slew of Procedures
From the yr she turned 40, this worker by no means missed a mammogram. Like many ladies, she mistakenly believed it was essentially the most acceptable technique to stop breast most cancers. She did not work for me then, so she did not know that radiation from mammograms can really CAUSE most cancersiv,v. However in 2008, every thing modified.
“I had no lumps, no issues, it was simply my common screening,” she advised me. “However after my 2008 mammogram, the technician mentioned she’d seen one thing on it and wanted to do an ultrasound immediately. So that is what we did. However when she was performed, she left and got here again with one other tech, who did a second ultrasound. Then they each left and got here again with the radiologist, who did a THIRD ultrasound. After a prolonged examination, the radiologist introduced he was scheduling me for an MRI with dye instantly.”
The radiologist defined that he noticed a tiny calcification in her breast, and for the reason that ultrasound could not inform him whether or not it was cancerous, he wanted to do the MRI. The MRI was performed, however that report wasn’t clear both, itemizing a last prognosis as merely “suspicious.” The radiologist wasn’t glad.
“He known as me at dwelling and mentioned he wanted to do a stereotactic biopsy immediately,” she mentioned. “Scared, I agreed to it. It was a biopsy from hell, indescribably painful. In the midst of it, the radiologist commented that my ‘breast density’ prevented him from getting an excellent sighting on the place to do the biopsy. I believed he was referring to all the load I would gained previously few years.”
The biopsy got here again damaging. However her ordeal wasn’t over. She was subsequent despatched to a surgeon, who decided that she wanted a lumpectomy, regardless of the damaging lab report. So a lumpectomy it was—and that, too, got here again damaging.
Surgical procedure or Needle Biopsies Can Really CAUSE Most cancers
“I used to be so relieved,” she advised me. “However once I went again for my post-op checkup, there was a small lump on the surgical procedure spot. I did not know on the time that there all types of research about how the slightest damage or lower, in addition to surgical procedures and biopsies can really trigger most cancersvi—I simply heard that on ABC Information just latelyvii. I additionally did not find out about different research exhibiting that accidents like my biopsy not solely can set off invasive most cancers, however that mammographic compression can unfold itviii .
“So when the surgeon mentioned the lump was most likely solely a hematoma, I went dwelling and ignored it. The lump was nonetheless there when it was time for my 2009 mammogram, and I pointed it out to the tech, who checked out it, felt it, and mentioned it would simply be scar tissue. When she got here out and mentioned every thing was high quality and I may go dwelling, I requested if she was going to do an ultrasound on the lump, however she mentioned no, there was no want.”
‘No Proof of Most cancers’
The written mammogram report reiterated the tech’s verbal report, saying there was “no proof of most cancers” in her breast. In 2010 she confirmed the tech the lump once more, and once more the tech mentioned every thing was “high quality.”
“However this time I did not consider it,” she mentioned. “So I went some other place earlier than I even obtained the report again. I had a biopsy—and realized I had Stage 3 Lobular Invasive most cancers. The very day of my surgical procedure [mastectomy] I obtained the letter from the radiology heart saying they had been ‘happy to tell’ me they’d discovered ‘no proof of most cancers’ in my breast. It was so loopy I could not even discover it in me to cry.”
After the mastectomy, the surgeon wrote her a prescription for a wig and scheduled her for chemo and radiation.
“However by this time I used to be working for Dr. Mercola, and I used to be very a lot conscious of my energy to take management of my very own well being,” she mentioned. “So I did some proactive issues proper then and there, to verify I used to be doing every thing attainable to battle this most cancers.”
Food plan, Train, Way of life Modifications
The very first thing she did was take a chilly, laborious have a look at the most cancers danger elements of her general well being, food regimen, and way of life.
“I haven’t got diabetes or coronary heart issues or ldl cholesterol,” she mentioned. “However I used to be chubby—a particular danger for each breast most cancers and its recurrenceix. Additionally, regardless of Dr. Mercola’s warnings on aspartame, I used to be hooked on Food plan Coke—I knew for a incontrovertible fact that in scientific research, aspartame brought on breast tumors in mice, however I nonetheless drank it. It was a on condition that I did not watch my food regimen; I did not train; and I had no clue what my vitamin D3 ranges had been, regardless that I used to be conscious that poor ranges of D3 are related to breast most cancers.”
Based mostly on my suggestions, she applied the next fast modifications:
- Began supplementing with 10,000 IUs of vitamin D3 every single day
- Gave up ALL types of soda, each food regimen and common
- Went on a grain-free food regimen and gave up refined sugars and flours
- Started exercising
“After which I scheduled an appointment for a second opinion on the most cancers therapy,” she mentioned. “My new docs gave me one thing known as an OncoType Dx take a look at, a kind of DNA take a look atx that tells you the probability of your most cancers coming again within the subsequent 10 years, and whether or not your most cancers is responsive or to not chemo. That is how I discovered that, No. 1, my probabilities of it coming again had been very low; and No. 2, that my type of most cancers does not reply to chemo. When different checks confirmed no proof of most cancers elsewhere in my physique, I declined radiation, so I had neither chemo nor radiation.”
A Pure, Dietary Strategy to Preventive Most cancers Care
The most cancers hospital the place my worker went affords complementary care, together with the providers of each a nutritionist and a naturopath—a rarity amongst anywhere in well being care, not to mention the most cancers business.
“And I embraced them,” she mentioned. “They advised me to start out exercising, and so they furnished me with a beautiful anti-cancer food regimen that features recent, natural greens and fruits which might be loaded with antioxidants. They applauded me for proscribing myself on refined sugars and flours. They usually additionally advised me to GIVE UP industrial meats altogether, due to the carcinogenic methods through which they’re ready. Mainly, if the meals is available in a can, field or package deal, I am not alleged to eat it.
Fortunately, my husband is a hunter so our freezer is already full of untamed meats comparable to elk, deer, turkey and hog. We’ve a lake home, so recent fish is all the time accessible.”
With the brand new food regimen, way of life modifications, and train, the worker has misplaced over 25 kilos thus far. She’s additionally taking nutritional vitamins and dietary supplements that embody a upkeep dose of 5,000 IUs a day of vitamin D3, CoQ10, vitamin C, grape seed extract, turmeric, and vitamin B12, to call just a few.
“And I am dwelling it,” she mentioned. “I really feel higher in all types of how, and my lab work exhibits it. For instance, at my final checkup, my vitamin D3 degree was over 73—”an excellent quantity for most cancers prevention” in line with my oncologist.
“I like my new way of life, and my new means of consuming. I’ve realized that many meals I would by no means eaten earlier than style actually good—the herb rosemary, for instance, has a beautiful savory style, and watercress and kale are filled with taste. I’ve realized find out how to snack too—a handful of walnuts just isn’t solely a cancer-fighter, however eaten with a glass of water, they will actually fill you up. I am by no means hungry, but I am shedding pounds a bit at a time. And the perfect half is I am cancer-free.”
As she launched into this food regimen, this worker obtained a shock bonus.
“I used to be recognized with rheumatoid arthritis in 2000,” she mentioned. “However shortly after I began the grain-free, sugar-free, flour-free food regimen, one thing unusual occurred. I stop having aches and pains, and my fingers grew to become unusually nimble. Then, once I went for my checkup on the rheumatologist’s, one thing even stranger occurred: my blood work confirmed no proof of RA in any respect! Though he mentioned there was no technique to show it, the rheumatologist acknowledged that it was fully attainable that the food regimen was the mitigating consider my restoration. So now I do not want my prescription arthritis drug and even an over-the-counter ache remedy. I can transfer and I am pain-free. It is a miracle!”
Mammography is a Whole Failure for Dense-Breasted Girls
Moreover the significance of food regimen and way of life in most cancers prevention, my worker realized plenty of different issues on her most cancers journey. For instance, she did not know till just lately that dense breasts don’t have anything to do with whether or not or not you’ve got gained weight xi.
“However they’ve every thing to do together with your danger of a mammogram giving a false optimistic, which may result in a slew of checks like I had, that you do not really need, or failing to determine a lump that’s cancerous, like what occurred to me,” she mentioned xii.
Forty-nine p.c of girls have excessive breast tissue densityxiii, and mammography’s sensitivity for dense breasts is as little as 27 p.cxiv—which means about 75 p.c of dense-breasted girls are in danger for a most cancers being missed in the event that they rely solely on mammography. Even with digital mammography, the sensitivity remains to be lower than 60 p.c.
The Ultimate Prognosis: Keep Most cancers-Free with Information
When my worker had her fateful 2008 expertise, a minimum of a dozen research had been already exhibiting the affiliation of breast density with breast most cancers and the errors that mammography could make in each overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis in dense breastsxv. She additionally did not know there was a motion afoot by different girls like her xvi,xvii to drive the FDA and state and federal governments to acknowledge mammography’s failures, or that hundreds of girls like her had been both being overdiagnosed and overtreated, or had their cancers missed due to itxviii.
“Now I am the primary to shout that, as an alternative of telling you to go get your mammogram in October—Breast Most cancers Consciousness Month—what they need to be saying is, ‘Are you conscious that mammograms miss as much as 75 p.c of some girls’s cancers?‘” she says.
“There was lots I did not know when this all began—however there additionally was lots I did know, issues that would have helped me keep cancer-free, however I wasn’t doing. I do know higher now, and that is why I am glad to share my story. The underside line is to collect all of the information you’ll be able to. Ask your physician you probably have dense breasts. Know your different dangers for most cancers, too—and do one thing about them! “Much more necessary, bear in mind that a lot of occasions a complete slew of checks not solely are pointless, however could possibly be harmful to your well being.”
I thank my researcher for sharing her story with you, and hope it might encourage you to take management of your well being; to essentially get PROACTIVE reasonably than ready for illness to set in earlier than you get that wakeup name. Perhaps you may be given a second likelihood, like she was. Then once more, perhaps you will not. Little else issues when you’re in a well being disaster, so why not take the time NOW to implement just a few wholesome way of life methods that simply would possibly provide help to keep away from getting in poor health within the first place.
Keep in mind, the best enemy most cancers has is a well-functioning immune system.
Within the occasion that you’re recognized with early stage breast most cancers, all the time get a second opinion—and probably a 3rd and fourth. I can not stress this sufficient, as false optimistic charges are simply too excessive and the diagnostic standards is just too subjective. Earlier than you make any resolution about therapy, and undoubtedly earlier than you resolve to have surgical procedure or chemotherapy, ensure that your biopsy outcomes have been reviewed by a breast specialist who’s educated and skilled in that subject. Nearly all of breast most cancers is preventable. However in case you are hit with that prognosis, do not lose hope! There’s a nice deal you are able to do to harness your physique’s personal highly effective therapeutic talents.
For a complete information to breast most cancers prevention and therapy, please check with this earlier article, Breast Most cancers Breakthrough – Lower Your Threat of Loss of life in Half.
