| By Dr William Campbell Douglass, MD If you've
been reading the Daily Dose or my newsletter for any length of time at all,
you already know how I feel about mammograms. They don't save lives, and
they're hazardous to a woman's health on many levels. And since I haven't
talked about this for a while, it all bears repeating. To recap what I've
said before...
First, the idea that "early detection" of breast cancer will spare a woman's
breast (or breasts) is erroneous. Despite the mainstream's droning on about
the need for regular mammograms as an aid to the detection of cancerous
tumors, the notion that such advanced warning will lead to a cure for the
disease is SIMPLY FALSE. Yet survey data indicates that a huge percentage of
at-risk women believe just that. This is really tragic, since the only
tumors mammograms can reliably detect are those that indicate a relatively
advanced stage of metastasized cancer.
Second, the act of getting a mammogram itself may actually CAUSE the spread
of diseased cells and the development of cancerous tumors within an
otherwise healthy breast. In what I call the "compression syndrome," the act
of squeezing and compressing the breast in order to get good images during
mammography may activate and spread an otherwise contained or localized mass
of cancerous cells. In one 90,000-woman Canadian study (published in a 1992
issue of The Lancet, my favorite medical journal), subjects between 40 and
50 who had yearly mammograms showed a 36%-52% INCREASE in breast cancer
mortality. But have we heard about this in USA Today, or on NBC news?
Third, conventional medicine is COMPLETELY IGNORING a perfectly safe,
non-invasive alternative cancer test called the AMAS (Anti-Malignan Antibody
Screen). AMAS is a simple and amazingly accurate (95%+) blood test for
detecting cancer cells of any type originating anywhere in the body. And
false positives for the AMAS test are less than 1%, which compares very
favorably to the...
MORE THAN 73% FALSE POSITIVE RATE OF MAMMOGRAMS AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS!
That's right: According to the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration
Project, a 5-year study of more than a quarter-million women between 35 and
74, only ONE IN SIX biopsies performed on the basis of a positive mammogram
(or physical exam) revealed cancer. Yet millions of women rush into
lumpectomies and mastectomies based on these results. If the mainstream
would just follow these tests with the AMAS, they'd be saving a lot of women
the physical and psychological damage that goes hand-in-hand with these
procedures. Keep reading...
But chances are they won't even mention the AMAS.
Why? Because there's simply too much money to be made as a result of the
irrational fear mammograms (and physical exams, for that matter) spread.
Lots of lumpectomies and mastectomies equals lots of cash in doctors' and
hospitals' pockets.
The bottom line is this: Today, conventional mammograms most often lead to
risky, extreme, and expensive TREATMENTS for breast cancer - but not
necessarily to cures or even an increased lifespan. And in a scary number of
cases, those treatments (see also: surgery) are completely unnecessary.
If you're concerned about it, or have been on the receiving end of a
"positive" mammogram, ask your doctor to follow up with an AMAS test before
you decide on any options, surgical or otherwise. If he (or she) isn't
familiar with this test or won't perform it, find a doctor who will before
you submit to the scalpel.
And keep in mind, too, that not all cases of breast cancer cases require
surgery or treatment of any kind. About one in four modern breast cancer
diagnoses fall into the category of slow-to-develop ductal or lobular
carcinomas "in situ" - which only become malignant in about 2% of cases. Yet
women are often mislead and panicked into an unnecessary mastectomy in these
cases that can simply be closely monitored over time. Would you part with
your breast (or a potion of one) for a 2-in-100 long shot? Probably not. But
that won't stop doctors and hospitals from urging you to go under the
knife...
After all, they've got bills to pay.
Giving you the full story,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
**************************************************************
Copyright (c)1997-2004 by
www.realhealthnews.com, L.L.C.
The Daily Dose may not be posted on commercial sites without written
permission.
|