Surgeons Say Mammography Techniques Are Outdated And Harm Women
Aug 28, 2018
Cancer should never be underestimated. Millions of women undergo an annual mammogram to screen for breast cancer. But this commonly-used procedure might be harming women more than it helps.
Mammograms are a controversial medical practice. When a mammogram is performed, a woman's breast is pressed between two platforms in order to scope for tumors. This practice has been used for years, but it might not be as effective as you think. Surgeons have recently begun to question mammograms, especially after multiple studies seem to indicate that mammograms are completely ineffective. And that's without even getting into the harm they can cause to women who undergo them.
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Why do women get mammograms?
It's exceedingly common for people to be told that mammography is the only way that breast cancer can be identified when it's in the earliest stages. However, eight scientific trials were conducted to investigate the procedure. They all found that mammograms are not completely effective in finding cancer, and they're also not safe for women.
Over 600,000 women have had a monitored procedure performed on a routine or semi-routine basis. After the researchers reviewed the data they had gathered, they discovered that many women received a misdiagnosis because of their mammography. This research indicated that multiple women were treated with chemotherapy when they did not have cancer, which caused them to have different health issues.
A great deal of women receive a misdiagnosis and mistreatment because of a mammogram. More women receive misdiagnoses than avoid cancer developing. Because of this, surgeons can say with increasing clarity that mammography is a completely outdated resource that fits history books better than it fits with modern medicine. It's especially unfit to be called a star procedure at the forefront of women's medicine.
New Mammography Studies
One study came to the conclusion that mammograms and screenings have no impact on mortality rates. At least, not greater than you'd get with a normal physical breast exam. Women pay a great deal more to receive a mammography when all they need to do is check for lumps for themselves.
With this in mind, the entire procedure is completely unnecessary. It also causes harm to the patients. If there is a tumor in the breast, it's a bad idea to squeeze that tumor. Crushing it between plates is an equally bad idea.
There's a list of research that just keeps going. A multitude of studies has expressed that mammography is completely and utterly useless. The math breaks down like this: For every one woman who avoids death from breast cancer, 10 more women will be mistreated because of a misdiagnosis.
It's unbelievable that today's doctors will attempt cancer treatments with tools that are as useless as mammograms. Mammography does not help anyone, and it causes more harm than it helps. Women should become educated regarding their bodies and their tools. It's time to stop using an outdated method that's ineffective and has the potential to cause harm.
Mammograms are an uncomfortable procedure for any woman. What have your experiences been? Have mammograms helped you, or have they caused you harm?
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