Guest guest Posted December 30, 2002 Report Share Posted December 30, 2002 Dear Annette, I have had regular mammograms since my 30s, on my own insistence, because of a family history of breast cancer. Sometimes I had to push for one - GP surgeries have limited budgets - but argued my case. Like most radiologists I have always regarded them as a snapshot in time that may detect lumps too small for manual examination, but not a substitute for regular self-examination for the periods in-between. Yes, they do produce false positives, but that's preferable to false negatives. An unnecessary biopsy is only so in hindsight, as I do know someone who died of breast cancer because her medical practitioners deemed a biopsy of her lump unnecessary. As you say, this is very much a personal decision. Best regards, Krystyna At 15:01 30/12/02, you wrote: >Dear All >seasons greetings ( sorry Graham ) >I would value comments /insights etc on the pros and cons of >mammograms.This is a personal request as I have reached the age to be > " invited " for breast screening. >My basic instinct is to decline as there is much research that suggests >such screening is no better than self examination and the number of false >positives leads to an unnecessary number of biopsies etc.what Doctors Dont >Tell You has a host of reports dismissing the value of mammograms ( I >havent read all of them ) and even the NHS leaflet sent with the >appointment says there is no evidence to suggest that mammograms reduce >the deaths from breast cancer.so I am left with wondering why I should >have one ! >If anyone can add further information or personal comments for or against >it may help me make a balanced decision ( which I know is mine alone ) >Thanks , Annette > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2002 Report Share Posted December 30, 2002 Dear Annette, I have also had mammograms for a few years now, despite only being in my thirties. I have polycystic breast disease quite severely and it's been deemed necessary to have diagnosis of various lumps and bumps confirmed by mammo. This year I had another but was seeing a new consultant. He was interesting in that he was not happy for me to have mammo.'s too often - I have no +ve family history of ca and he doesn't feel it's necessary to screen purely on my own very lumpy (!) history. He advised that a mammogram is equivalent to 500 times a normal chest x ray and on that basis will not screen on a whim. In your case though, I would think carefully before dismissing the option for screening. I've always been reassured to hear that everything's fine and as Krystyna says false positives are better than false negatives and in the grand scheme of things a core biopsy isn't a big deal if it does turn out to unnecessary. Surely it's better to know whether a lump is benign or not. When second and subsequent mammo.'s are read, they are looking for changes and false positives can be the result of the patient taking HRT inbetween scans, which makes the appearance of the breast tissue more dense (it shows up whiter on the film), and the patient will be recalled in this situation and usually ultrasound confirms that all is well. As you can imagine, this will effect many women but I can't imagine many herbalists are included in that number! All the best, Sue Cobbold MNIMH mammograms > Dear All > seasons greetings ( sorry Graham ) > I would value comments /insights etc on the pros and cons of mammograms.This is a personal request as I have reached the age to be " invited " for breast screening. > My basic instinct is to decline as there is much research that suggests such screening is no better than self examination and the number of false positives leads to an unnecessary number of biopsies etc.what Doctors Dont Tell You has a host of reports dismissing the value of mammograms ( I havent read all of them ) and even the NHS leaflet sent with the appointment says there is no evidence to suggest that mammograms reduce the deaths from breast cancer.so I am left with wondering why I should have one ! > If anyone can add further information or personal comments for or against it may help me make a balanced decision ( which I know is mine alone ) > Thanks , Annette > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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