We invite you to join in the conversation by leaving a comment below.
Read More:
“Why Doctors Are Rethinking Breast-Cancer Treatment.” Time Magazine, October 1, 2015.
“Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer.” Peggy Orenstein. The New York Times, April 25, 2013.
Thank you Missy for your article and for taking a stand. It is thought provoking…
I still remember my first mammogram…it was like something out of the Inquisition. I think a man who hated his mother/women created this torture device. They scraped the skin on my chest terribly. Then as you approach menopause, women tend to have fluctuating hormones, which can cause cysts to form and then disappear. I found one of these cysts, went through another mammogram only to be treated that I was heading for the grave. The breast cancer surgeon told me the mammogram films were the worst she had ever seen…so, why not reshoot them before proceeding? Why not ask or determine if I have started menopause? That process scarred me more than the painful biopsy.
Here is something to think about…I am finding more women tell me their thyroid has stopped working and needs to be removed. Is this being caused by too much radiation to the region?
I now have a thermal imaging scan each year…no pain, no radiation, not invasive, and definitely not a torture device. My report is reviewed immediately, a color copy sent to me and my doctor. Life is good…
I get the author’s right to state her opinion and I’m not offended nor withdrawing from subscriptions or patronage, but I don’t understand why, with a family history of breast cancer, you would want to pass up an opportunity for early detection. It seems crazy to not want to monitor your own health and spare yourself a potential bullet of rigorous chemo/radiation and possibly death. Why not take every precaution you can and spare yourself and your loved ones from heartache and loss? I get that you’d like to see research more properly funded but why seek this at the risk of your own heakth? It just makes no sense.
What I know for sure; what you fear will most likely me drawn to you. G
I treat cancer patients whose lives have been saved due to early imaging and getting early detection. I agree with the other posts that you have a right to express your opinion and follow your convictions, but I disagree with the manner you chose to espouse your beliefs. I subscribe to Title 9 because of the merchandise and do not expect my email to be used for your editorial comments. Honestly, I have never liked your blogs but this one caused me to unsubscribe from Title 9. Next time you might be endorsing a political candidate or stating your religious views. I expressed my opinion by chosing to purchase my athletic wear from your competition.
People having opinions about their own healthcare is good. Opinions not based on good research and evidence make me shake my head, although as long as the decisions don’t put others at risk I don’t much care. But an email like this is like a celebrity spouting anti-vaxer rhetoric. The celebrity status does not convince me the person knows what they are talking about but I cringe that due to their status others may not do the necessary research and just accept the opinion as wisdom and sound because the person has that status that is totally unrelated to medical knowledge. I turn off the TV show, I put down the magazine or newspaper when it happens. And receiving this email was way more irritating than typical spam because you are using your status as CEO of a good athletic wear company and the mailing list associated with it to spread your opinion. I don’t care that you hold the opinion, but I don’t like what you did with this email so you can now count me as one more person who won’t buy your products any longer.
I would go as far as saying your post could very likely lead to death. Yes, that sounds extreme and full of drama, but, it’s true. It’s true if even one person decides to forgo a mammogram because of this post. The following is a very real scenario. I know. The first happened to me. The second happened to three of my good friends who died of breast cancer. The most recent was just a week ago. Me…I had a mammogram, DCIS was discovered. After biopsy, it was graded as Stage 0, Grade 3. This means it was a matter of time before it became invasive. Then, of course, it could easily involve the lymph glands. If I had not had the mammogram, I could have faced a dire situation. My three friends were not so lucky. They did not do regular mammograms. Early detection is critical. Your post could very likely lead to devastating results for many women.
I applaud Missy for stating her opinion, and I do agree with her. I have a family history of both Breast and Ovarian Cancer, and each family member’s individual choices do create conflict. But that is the point, it is a personal choice. I do not subscribe to the fear-mongering, and I refuse to biopsy every single suspicious thing that appears. I had a family member who was diligent with mammograms, self-monitoring, and every other test available. Her tumor could not be detected until it had spread to her spine causing back pain. (her tumor was flat, not a lump)She died, despite being hyper-aware. But I do think those types of scenarios are rare. With all the talk these days about empowering women, shouldn’t it be about supporting them in making the decisions that are right for THEM?! Empowering women should not be about using fear and bullying to get anyone to agree with us or risk facing criticism. We all KNOW these decisions have a major impact on our lives. And the truth is, there is still so much we don’t yet understand about this disease and each case is so different from the next. No one wants to hear “I told you so” when they find out they have Cancer & made choices others did not agree with. Let’s all just support each other in our individuality!
Wow! Hot topic! I have given up mammograms due to the radiation exposure to my already depleted thyroid. There is a non-invasive procedure called thermograms which I do instead and my dr approves. I agree with Missy on the need for cancer research for EVERY type of cancer.
Perhaps changing the title of your op piece to something like, “In Favor of BC Funding Research, not Awareness” would be more palatable to the likes of the medical professionals who left acerbic replies.
It has been my (unpopular) opinion that cancer is such big business, that there really is little incentive for Big Pharma, food manufacturers and/or BC fund raisers to actually find cures.
My BC awareness program consists of a mammogram every few years but my cancer prevention program gets daily attention. Exercise, whole foods and limited exposure to toxic people, places and things will make us all healthier without lining the pockets of pharmaceutical companies or unscrupulous fund raising businesses.
I respectfully disagree with opting out of any screening and would suggest that the best methods of detection are a combination of observation and technology available to us today. It isn’t perfect and yes you can get false positives and false negatives, but why reject a tool that can be used to save a life, even if you disagree with the media and hoopla around it? Yes some people end up getting biopsies that are unnecessary but many more have lives and tissue saved. I just wish there had been a screening tool available for my relative now fighting a soft tissue sarcoma now, if so we may have had the ability to do surgery earlier before the tumor got so large we are now in chemo and radiation. But thank god we had MRI and CT scan to rule out metastasis. Use whatever tools are available to save your life. Opt out of screening for yourself but I would suggest not pressuring friends or family to do the same, they should make their decisions based on scientific evidence not emotion.