The Truth About Mammograms

A  breast cancer survivor takes a long hard look at the myths and realities of mammography.

I used to believe that a mammogram saved my life.

Bottom line – Mammography is not perfect, and like all screening tests, has risks as well as benefits.  Mammograms lower breast cancer morality by 15%, but at a cost of over-diagnosis, and some believe, over treatment of cancers detected by screening that may never had caused death in the first place.  This is most evident in the increasing use of mastectomy to treat DCIS, a non-invasive form of breast cancer that is readily detected by mammography.

A must read for every woman considering having a mammogram.

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More on mammograms –

• The New Mammogram Guidelines – What you need to know.
• Mammograms – what women want. But is it for the right reasons?
• ACOG’s Mammogram recommendations – not what you’d think
• Preventing Breast Cancer Deaths – How much credit does mammography get?
• Understanding Mammogram Over-Diagnosis
• More on Mammogram Over Diagnosis
• Breast Cancer Mammogram Density Laws