A Better Choice Than Mammograms for Women

Mammograms came into use for detecting cancers in women’s breasts in the 1970s. Women starting at around age 40 to 45 have been urged to get screened every year or two.

There have almost always been problems with mammograms. The first one is that the procedure can be painful and even traumatic. It can lead to skin tears and deep tissue damage. If the woman has breast implants, they could rupture.

Mammograms are also not good at detecting cancers in dense breast tissue. They can miss almost half of these types of cancer.

Another major problem is having false positive reading. Over a 10-year period of getting mammograms, almost 50% of the women will have a false positive reading. This can then lead to biopsies and surgeries that were unnecessary and could be very costly.

The final negative is that the woman is exposed to small doses of radiation which has a cumulative effect on the body and can lead to cancer.

So, what to do about this?

Well, there are now four options available to women that seem to be a great alternative to having a mammogram.

The first one is called Infrared Thermography imaging which allows the Doc to see the vascular patterns in the breast along with temperature readings in the breast which may signify cancer. It will help the practitioner find abnormalities in the breast tissue.

While it’s FDA approved, it’s not meant to be the only method used to determine if there is breast cancer.

The second method, which is also FDA approved, is called Quantitative Transmission (QT) and it uses sound waves to take 3-D images of the breast. It has no pain or radiation involved. QTs resolutions are 40 times greater than getting an MRI.

The third method is using regular Ultrasound as it can detect lumps and bumps in the breast.

Finaly, the fourth one depends on the woman to do self-exams, which can be highly effective if done regularly and thoroughly.

So…all this means that a woman needs to ask her Doc about these options to mammograms. Won’t having no pain, no radiation and better detection be a great plus to having a checkup for breast cancer!
(Reported WDDTY.com, October 2024)