Re: Contracting Diabetes

Hi Priscilla,

You make a good point about over-relying on the mammograms. My
friend's mother did detect breast cancer through a routine mammogram,
however, it was actually quite lucky that she had developed the more
common form at the same time as the aggressive form, which hadn't shown
up on the mammogram at all. The aggressive form was detected on the
tissue samples sent to pathology.

I'm thinking good thoughts for your friend.

Michelle, T2
diet & exercise

Priscilla H. Ballou wrote:
In article <1157678928.193470.47660@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Michelle" <bookbug2005@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I agree with you on the mammogram issue. Although the naysayers are
squelched, there are some researchers concerned that the small dose of
radiation every year (for those who get them yearly) may actually cause
the disease they are trying to head off.

Additionally in pre-menopausal age women, the breast tissue is dense,
and that situation leads to more false-positives than in
post-menopausal age women. Right now, I'm 42, and staying away from
the procedure unless there is cause. I had one done when I was 40 for
a lump that turned out to be a cyst.

And even if a person gets her mammograms on schedule, she still needs
to vigilant with the self-exam. There is a lady on another newsgroup I
visit who developed an aggressive form of breast cancer that had gone
undetected on the mammogram she'd had just 9 months previously.

Yes, Susan Love (the queen of breast docs IMO) says that the key to
detection is not reliance on mammograms and monthly self-examination,
but rather keeping up ongoing familiarity with your own breasts. (A
sexual partner can help out with this, too, and that routine can be a
lot of fun!) If you know how they usually feel, then you'll feel when
there's something changing.

I'm 53 and don't have someone to assist me in my familiarity study
(rats!), but I do my best on my own. A-hem. However, I do plan to go
get another booby-pinch just in case.

A co-worker of mine knew there was something amiss because her breasts
felt different to her, although nothing showed on the mammogram. She
went for what was supposed to be a base line MRI, and it showed the
beginnings of aggressive breast cancer of a kind that doesn't show up
easily on mammograms. The reason for the base line was the simultaneous
diagnosis of BC in her mother and sister the prior year. Theirs was a
more common, less aggressive form. My friend is, IIRC, now through
chemo and into radiation. She rode her bicycle to the hospital for her
mastectomy. ;-) A very cool woman. If she doesn't beat this I will be
severely pissed. :-(

Priscilla

.

Relevant Pages

  • Buckwheat Beat Down, Again - New guidelines back mammograms starting at age 40
    ... New guidelines back mammograms starting at age 40 ... breast imaging, contradicting controversial guidelines from a U.S. ... "The significant decrease in breast cancer mortality, ...
    (alt.politics)
  • Re: Contracting Diabetes
    ... Additionally in pre-menopausal age women, the breast tissue is dense, ... Yes, Susan Love says that the key to detection is not reliance on mammograms and monthly self-examination, but rather keeping up ongoing familiarity with your own breasts. ... less aggressive form. ... My friend is, IIRC, now through chemo and into radiation. ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Breast test furor fades but anger lingers
    ... physicians and major medical organizations fought back ("I want my mammograms!") when the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that women with average breast cancer risk begin biannual mammograms at 50. ... At the same time, doctors at breast imaging centers are not seeing fewer patients in their 40s, and women in that age group say they're not waiting until 50 for their next screening, despite the confusion and heated controversy over the task force recommendations. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Death Panels have arrived - Women thrown under the bus
    ... Government sponsored panel says Women don't need to check for breast cancer, ... Breast Exam Guidelines Raise Furor ... their 40s get annual mammograms. ...
    (alt.gathering.rainbow)