Every year when pink ribbons and pink products start flying during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October I feel frustrated. After all, it has been about 37 years since we were told that there would be a cure for cancer. And, for each year that goes by, another skydiving, race event, or fundraiser is organized, and still no cure.
It bothers me when women are talking on their breast cancer risk-increasing pink cell phones or eating fake yohgurt filled with rBGH milk and toxic additives, not the least being cancer-causing aspartame, just to get those pink lids in the name of raising money for the “cure”. And then there is the inundation of thousands of other cause-marketing products ranging from pink M&M's candies to underwire bras to cookies.
The reality is that the incidence of breast cancer keeps increasing and the real data tells us that only 1-2% of people get “cured”.
According to the Lancet, mammography does not save or extend lives. The practice of insurance and direct consumer payouts for radiation based screening and treatment results in a less than 1% chance of improving survival. Is this worth such a large investment when so many medical claims are denied and there is virtually zero coverage of preventive practices?
Overall, radiation prevented breast cancer from returning in about two thirds of the women. When the results of all studies were combined, radiation did not improve the death rate from breast cancer during the first two years after treatment. After two years, women who underwent radiation were about 13% less likely to die from breast cancer each year.
The benefits of radiation came with a cost - the death rate from other causes was actually 21% higher in women who underwent radiation.
These statements alone would make me wonder enough to try to find out what I could do to reduce risk, improve prevention, have better and less harmful screening and certainly get more motivated to demand the cure.
Mammography has never demonstrated increased survival rates.
I often ask myself why thermography isn't offered at local Woman's Imaging Centers, and why woman aren't asking for this. Breast Thermography was approved by the FDA in 1982 as an adjunctive breast cancer screening procedure and, after thirty years of research, 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography now exist in the index-medicus literature.
It's time for women to start asking more questions.
Breast Cancer Facts
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American women.
Nearly 41,000 women die of breast cancer annually in the U.S. and more and more young women are being diagnosed each year.
Out of some 800,000 biopsies that are done every year, over 180,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer... the rest are benign lumps.
There is more than one type of breast cancer; you DO NOT need a lump to have breast cancer.
For women with dense breast tissue (usually younger women) it is harder to detect breast cancer on mammograms.
Once a tumor has grown to a sufficient size to be detectable by mammogram or physical examination, it has been growing for several (8-10) years and the malignant cell colony has doubled 25 times.
Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND, is a natural health educator and advocate. Celebrating 50+ years blending science and the natural healing arts. Sign up for her herbalYoda newsletter at: http://www.leaflady.org/
This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not take the place of a consultation with a qualified health care professional. Always consult a physician or other qualified health care professional before taking any herbs or applying any therapies. The reader must assume full responsibility for verifying any information or therapies with a qualified physician or health care professional.
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