Tests: Mammogram versus Thermogram

So here is the first of the promised blogs on tests.

All tests are stressful. So which ones are useful for me?

Types offered: mammogram, x-ray, ultrasound, various blood tests

Things to be considered are their effectiveness, their possible side effects, their accuracy, what they tell us. Information is hard to get and often biased or unreliable. It's possible that the bias comes from who is promoting what, such as big rich companies.
       There are relatively new tests, so research is still coming, although I was surprised to read that one so-called new test was being used in the 1950's.

I have decided to rely on Thermography, Circulating Tumour Cells blood tests and Live Blood tests. I am refusing mammograms, ultrasounds and x-rays. Now this is a bit alternative, but I have not made this decision lightly.

Thermography

This is from one thing I have read. It is a quotation from Kennedy  & Sealy.

There is no one screening tool currently available that
provides 100% predictability of the presence of a cancer-
ous tumor. The only definitive diagnostic tool is a biopsy.
In the past 30 years there have been numerous studies
that have demonstrated thermography to have the ability
to detect breast abnormalities that other screening meth-
ods may not have identified (Kennedy & Seely, 2009) .

Apparently, there are good machines (Russian) and other less effective ones. Here is a link to more information   Again, knowing what is promoted mainly in order to make money is a difficult skill. However, thermography has no known bad affects on our body.

Mammograms

There is as much information against mammograms as there is for them. Australia seems to be the biggest promoter of them. I am told there is a great amount of Government investment in the machines. I am not going to give you links to the promoters as you can find these easily. Here are a few that are critical of mammograms.

Your Greatest Weapon Against Breast Cancer (not Mammograms).

Screening mammograms do more harm than good 

A google search

 And here are some academic resources:

 Gotzsche, Peter C. (2012). Mammography screening: Truth, lies and controversy, London: Radcliffe Publishing.

Gotzsche, Peter C, & Olsen, O. (2000). is screening for breast cancer with mammography justifiable? The Lancet, 355(January 8, 2000), 129-134. 

All of our Australian Cancer organisations promote mammograms so it is scary to go against them. However, I do know a lady whose three episodes of breast cancer were not detected by mammogram and another whose one episode was not detected. So.....

• Switzerland says no to mammograms  More on Switzerland's Decision

• And one more danger - "the possibility that an existing tumour may spread due to the pressure exerted on the breast during screening"

Choices and Decisions

I hope I am not going to be criticised for writing about this choice. I realise that some of my Breast Cancer Support friends will be reading this. It is up to everybody to make their own decisions, but these decisions should be informed ones. I found the decision difficult and scary but then this whole breast cancer thing is scary. I am going to use other blood tests to go with this choice of thermography and I will explain that in the next blog. Stay tuned.