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Breast cancer screenings: Too many of the wrong kind. What’s the best option?

breast cancer, breast cancer screening, mammography, thermography, breast cancer screening options IMPORTANT!!

Cancer screenings….The following is an excerpt from an Orlando Sentinel article. The statement may sound radical. It’s not. My thermographer has been saying this to me for two years.  This is the FIRST time I’ve seen this printed in mainstream media. Dr. Mercola, the holistic health guru I follow, has been against mammograms for sometime now.

Studies have also found that, because of the low levels of radiation mammograms emit, having many over a lifetime appears to contribute to breast cancer.”

Opting out of mammograms

As of this year, I’ve opted out of mammograms. Unfortunately, opting out of mammos and opting in for the ideal three-prong screening approach (MRI, doctor exam and breast thermography) is often cost prohibitive and very difficult to get approved by your doctor unless you have risk factors.

Because I’ve had abnormal mammograms and MRI’s in the past (benign, thank God) I can get prescriptions and insurance coverage for breast MRI and ultrasounds. MRI is indeed the most sensitive imaging and will fortunately detect suspicious and unfortunately detect non-suspicious changes.   Two sides of the same coin. 

So, how can you get your insurance carrier to cover an MRI or ultrasound when mammogram is the approved first line breast cancer screening? Ask your doctor if in her physical breast exam or your mammogram she found anything that may necessitate additional screening.  Look at your family history, or in my case, non-history. I’m adopted so I don’t know if breast cancer runs in my family. This however, isn’t reason enough for most insurance carriers to cover second line screening.

Find a doctor who subscribes to Dr. Mercola’s beliefs about breast cancer screenings.   If you have dense breasts this is reason enough to forgo a mammo and go the MRI or ultrasound route.  Mammogram is virtually useless for dense breasts.

I also recommend women get a breast thermogram. Thermography detects heat and vascular (circulatory) changes (cancer gives off heat). If you want one  you’re likely 100% out of pocket unless your doctor sees a reason to order a thermogram. It costs between $200-$400. (*ONLY go to a breast thermographer certified in breast thermography. I cannot stress this enough! )

It’s time for a radical paradigm shift in how we view breast cancer screening.

  1. The first step is PREVENTION: armor your immune system (up your vitamin D3 intake!).
  2. The second step is to AVOID inappropriate screenings and if possible, get an ultrasound or MRI, breast thermogram and doctor exam. All three approaches address different aspects of breast health (functional, structural). Avoid repeated annual mammograms and invasive biopsies when appropriate.

 

Further reading:

My blog: “My very best breast advice after my ‘abnormal finding‘”

 

 

 

Laura G Owens

Writer. Blogger. Essayist. My focus is wellness, social commentary and personal essays that explore the messiness of being human. Our ambivalence. Our uncomfortable feelings that when revealed, shed shame and reveal our authentic selves.

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Site last updated March 14, 2024 @ 3:00 pm; This content last updated June 3, 2013 @ 9:38 am

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