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AngryOldDem

(14,180 posts)

51. I'm getting sick of this bullshit, too.

Sat Feb 15, 2014, 12:34 PM

Feb 2014

I've been having them since my baseline at 35. At 50, I went to an annual exam. I just had one in January. I have no pronounced family history of either breast or ovarian cancer. I don't smoke, drink rarely, and exercise moderately and consistently at least five or six days a week. My weight is not an issue. It seems to me all of this should be mitigating factors in determining whether an annual mammo is called for. But my doctor insists on a yearly exam, which I come to dread around Thanksgiving, and then have to sweat out getting the results. Perhaps this is a phobia. But I am sick of this "damned if I do, damned if I don't" conundrum I find myself in every year, and I'm getting to be of the age where I'm just about to say fuck it, I roll the dice and see what happens.

I am coming to the conclusion that several factors are coming into play here:

1) The fear factor.
2) Hospitals having to gin up business to pay for these million dollar machines.
3) Society's fixation on breasts.

And I am just WAITING for the study that comes out and says that having a yearly mammography actually INCREASES the risk of cancer. With all the other conflicting studies that come out over this damned exam, would that really surprise anybody?

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How Mammograms Improve Survival but Not Mortality [View all] Recursion Feb 2014 OP

Here's the thing... ohheckyeah Feb 2014 #1

What's most surprising to me is that this seems to undercut the "early detection is best" narrative Recursion Feb 2014 #2

The very mammogram that may have caught the cancer, may ohheckyeah Feb 2014 #3

There must be a flaw with the article. Because the contradictory things it says can't be reconciled. lumberjack_jeff Feb 2014 #4

How so? It makes perfect sense to me Recursion Feb 2014 #5

Perhaps you're right. lumberjack_jeff Feb 2014 #41

Without reading the source article, I might argue that survival time has not increased. hedgehog Feb 2014 #49

What you're describing is increased survival time Recursion Feb 2014 #64

I'm suspicious that the phrase "increased survival time" implies something that isn't true. hedgehog Feb 2014 #67

Right, that's the article's point Recursion Feb 2014 #70

The former MannyGoldstein Feb 2014 #54

Any women who has found a tumor by mammography, that could not be felt manually, I would say has lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #6

Yes, this seems to contradict that: earlier detection is not decreasing mortality Recursion Feb 2014 #7

I would want to know if the treatments that were applied were the most effective ones. It is well lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #8

This does seem to raise more questions than answers Recursion Feb 2014 #9

I agree. I added more comments to my post also, wanting to know the criteria used in reading the lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #17

A biopsy itself has contraindications Recursion Feb 2014 #19

the only way a firm diagnosis can be made is with a biopsy. If a mammogram shows a suspicious area, lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #26

The risk of driving to the clinic is greater than both Recursion Feb 2014 #27

It is a question of risk verses reward. People need to make their own informed decision. The most lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #29

I do agree patient choice needs to be front and center here Recursion Feb 2014 #30

It is my understanding that many times when any tumor is removed this promotes metastication AngryAmish Feb 2014 #75

As far as unnecessary treatment goes, there is some concern that we are finding and treating hedgehog Feb 2014 #50

There is no rule that if you are at a certain age it will be aggressive. The only way to determine lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #66

The issues you raise are very valid and the reason for intense scrutiny of hedgehog Feb 2014 #68

We are on the same page lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #69

Yes, this research does contradict that prior belief. pnwmom Feb 2014 #15

Thanks for the explanation it finally makes sense..nt Jesus Malverde Feb 2014 #24

Actually that is NOT true with prostate cancer. If a prostate cancer is found, and it is localized lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #31

The point is that "active surveillance" is now an option in many low grade and small cancers, pnwmom Feb 2014 #34

agreed. As usual, I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Thanks lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #40

I don't know for sure, but to me PotatoChip Feb 2014 #63

I'm 43. Starry Messenger Feb 2014 #10

It's been a low-level statistical inference war for about a decade now Recursion Feb 2014 #12

No. This isn't a sudden spate of research. This 90,000 subject study has studied these pnwmom Feb 2014 #16

Talk to your doctor REP Feb 2014 #22

That has got to be frustrating. Jesus Malverde Feb 2014 #25

No, this evidence has been building for some time. alarimer Feb 2014 #42

We now have safer means of ohheckyeah Feb 2014 #43

Unfortunately (and I am no expert) it seems to take a long time for new methods to be accepted alarimer Feb 2014 #44

Women need to know their options ohheckyeah Feb 2014 #47

There was some interesting design in that study. LisaL Feb 2014 #11

OK, that's a pretty huge issue there Recursion Feb 2014 #13

Appears to be a number of issues with the study, from reading that article. LisaL Feb 2014 #14

So why aren't mortality rates lower among those who have received mammograms? Recursion Feb 2014 #18

That is one thing, or at least set up consistent standards, but you can't just mixed different age lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #21

Well, LisaL Feb 2014 #23

The biggest problem with mammograms are women with dense breasts. Those women should request an MRI lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #28

Well, of course Brainstormy Feb 2014 #57

Wow, that says everything, and was one of my very questions. Did the radiologists all adhere to the lostincalifornia Feb 2014 #20

And if you have large, dense breasts, Le Taz Hot Feb 2014 #32

Is ultrasound effective for finding cancer? flamingdem Feb 2014 #37

I have no idea. Le Taz Hot Feb 2014 #39

Mine was caught by ultrasound Ruby the Liberal Feb 2014 #52

If you are one of the small percentage of women who get breast cancer, bemildred Feb 2014 #33

I was just diagnosed with DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in Situ) via a mammogram. phylny Feb 2014 #35

I had infiltrating 840high Feb 2014 #53

And to you, hope you are well! phylny Feb 2014 #61

Yes - thank you. Hugs to you. 840high Feb 2014 #65

If true, it means modern medicine hasn't gotten anywhere in the war on cancer. reformist2 Feb 2014 #36

The problem with early detection leftyladyfrommo Feb 2014 #38

I refuse to have my breasts smashed between two flat plates & irradiated ever again. scarletwoman Feb 2014 #45

I don't trust them, either. leftyladyfrommo Feb 2014 #48

I'm getting sick of this bullshit, too. AngryOldDem Feb 2014 #51

I would not be shocked at all! Phentex Feb 2014 #55

I think I read that most lumps are found by self exams. leftyladyfrommo Feb 2014 #73

I'm 52 next week; never had one and never will JenniferJuniper Feb 2014 #56

The images have become so sensitive, especially now madaboutharry Feb 2014 #58

Do you have any links for these studies or basic articles flamingdem Feb 2014 #59

�Screening for breast cancer with mammography� JenniferJuniper Feb 2014 #62

Thanks for those flamingdem Feb 2014 #71

It's only scary because we have been conditioned to believe leftyladyfrommo Feb 2014 #74

I'm familiar with this study. AngryOldDem Feb 2014 #60

is that a fact? that we all have cancers? Liberal_in_LA Feb 2014 #72

That's what I've been reading. leftyladyfrommo Feb 2014 #76

Deborah Rhodes: A test that finds 3x more breast tumors, and why it's not available to you LiberalAndProud Feb 2014 #46