Lane,
There's risk in everything. You have to consider the trade-offs. IMO, there is no question that it's better to get a mammogram than not.
I am not sure how exactly it works with breast cancer, if there are any way to evaluate risk factors and decide that this person is at risk, and should take mammogram, or if breast cancer just comes out of the blue.
The risk from mammogram, IMO, points to a wholesale administration of radiation to all women is probably a mistake, but if one is at risk it is probably a good idea to take mammogram.
But let me just go on a bit of a tangent. There is a line of thought (which I am not sure if I buy), which says that cancererous cells are in the body all the time, and body most of the time deals with them. And it is not the cancer cells that kills the patient, it is the announcement of your death sentence ("you have cancer") that does irreparable damage - in addition weakening of the body through current stone age, barbaric treatments of cancer.
Anyway, I am not sure if I buy it entirely, but I think some of the ideas are sound. If you are interested, Google New German Medicine for more info.
Joe |
