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Health news Tuesday!
Mammograms and Chemotherapy: Industry Recommendations
The cancer industry's current recommendations on mammograms. I should note, I am not against THERMOGRAMS, newer technology that can detect cancer more accurately and without radiation.
Make Your Own Probiotics: Kefir
This article details both milk and water kefir. Water kefir is not sold anywhere (milk kefir is sold in most grocery stores) and isn't well known. We've actually been working on some for awhile now, trying to "perfect" our recipe. I'll be blogging about our efforts soon!
Nutrition Can Save the Country
Mike Adams' view on why nutrition is so important and how good nutrition can help in many different areas.
GlaxoSmithKline Recalls H1N1 Vaccine in Canada Over 'Life Threatening' Allergy Risk
Important news for those considering an H1N1 vaccine.
Government-Run Health Care: Where it Stands
Why this plan should not pass, and what you can do about it.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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Have you read up on thermography? It has a 15% false postive anda 15% false negative rate and is used as a complementary tool to breast exams, mammograms and sonography. Doctors still choose mammograms as the standard of care because thermography cannot diagnose cancer and cannot be used to guide a needle for a biposy. Right now thermography is being used as a risk assessment tool, NOT a diagnostic tool. Women who have a suspicious thermogram have a 10 to 20 percent increased chance of developing breast cancer and still need a mammogram,a sonogram, or an MRI. Thermogram, at this point in its development, is an additional step and an additional expense in the detection of breast cancer.
ReplyDeleteI think you should try going to some other websites besides NaturalNews.com. It is obviously a biased site that sensationalizes "emerging" health news. I realize the site validates your point of view, but you are really not researching properly unless you find additional, reputable sources that contain the same opinions and information (more than one). I'm sure you realize that anyone can say ANYTHING on a website. Have you considered going to websites that end in .org, .edu, or .gov versus the .coms or looking at the full articles (not abstracts or out-of-context quotes) published in medical journals?
I really don't understand your miltant attitude against mammograms. Are you turning 40 soon and are concerned about needing one? Do you know someone who died from raditation exposure as the result of a mammogram? Do you have any reason for advancing your opinion on this subject? Please, please explain. Each time I ask you for an explanation, you ignore the plea. I'd really like to know your motivation.
Even though you said you do not censor dissenting opinions (blog etiquette), you have not posted my respectful, well-researched comments on thermograms. Why?
ReplyDeleteI find it disrepsectful that you do not respond to my questions about why you are so interested in promoting the avoidance of mammograms. I have never seen you mention that you are a breast cancer survivor or that you are closely related to someone who had/has breast cancer. I would NEVER presume to give you advice as to what foods to feed your daughter. YOU are living with her allergies and are obviously doing research and all you can to help her be as healthy as possible. It would be rude and disrespectful of me to think that I know as much about her conditions as you since you have a huge stake in her health. Since you refuse to respond to my questions about your interest/stake in breast cancer, I assume you have none. It is rude and disrespectful of you to think that you know as much about breast cancer as I and to offer incomplete advice to others. Please reconsider your censoring of comments and post my complete information about thermograms so that anyone reading your blog is WELL-informed.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI don't remember receiving comments about thermograms. I have posted pretty much everything I've received in the last week or so, so I'm not sure why your comments wouldn't show up. If you would like to send more information about thermograms and what you have learned in your situation, I would be more than happy to post it. As it happens -- I didn't mention this before -- my aunt is a breast cancer survivor. That's one reason I do have a personal interest in the topic.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteActually...I didn't fully explain my first response. My MIL is in her late 40s and her aunt had breast cancer. However, her aunt led a very unhealthy lifestyle -- sedentary, tons of junk food, etc. Her mother is perfectly healthy. She has been terrified for years of breast cancer and I have tried to research it for her and talk to her about the differences in her mother's lifestyle (who is healthy) vs. her aunt's, and that since she is healthy she should not be at increased risk. This is why I have started to research breast cancer screenings, treatments, etc.
You posted my comment on thermograms after I questioned your censoring. I'm quite certain you had the thermogram comment a day before the censoring comment.
ReplyDeleteIf your mother-in-law or you is concerned about genetic breast cancer, you can stop worrying. An aunt is a second degree relative, and, as such, does not meet the criteria for either of you being at a higher genetic risk. Having a first degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer increases a person's genetic risk.
Most breast cancer is not genetic (less than 20% is genetic). While lifestyle choices can increase a woman's breast cancer risk, age is still the most important risk factor. Last time I checked, there is nothing we can do about growing older; thus, there is nothing we can do about this risk factor. Your mother-in-law's risk, your risk, and every woman's risk increases every day.
Some women, even if they make healthy choices, will develop breast cancer. Here are my facts: I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 37. Five doctors (yes, I really obtained five opinions) advised me that it had been present approximately 10 years based on the distribution and amount of cancerous cells that were found (for the record, I had two pathologists read the slides from my biopsy). I had NO risk factors. In fact, I had several mitigating factors. I had two children before age 30 and one at age 31. I breast-fed all three. I was never overweight (5'9" 133 lbs.), ran approximately 20-25 miles per week, lifted free weights 3 times per week, and ate a healthy diet. There was no history of breast cancer in my family. My only symptoms were that a small bruise on my breast and I was losing weight (down to 125 at the time of surgery). I went for my annual PAP test and had a clinical breast exam. My doctor found a slightly enlarged lymph node (not a breast lump) in my armpit and sent me for a mammogram. The mammogram indicated suspicious cells and the radiologist immediately performed a sonogram which confirmed that none of the suspicious areas was a cyst. She referred me to a breast surgeon. The breast surgeon did a needle biopsy (a horrible procedure where mammograms are taken to pinpoint the suspicious cells and long "fish-hook" type needles are inserted in the breast so that the surgeon can remove the least amount of breast tissue). Eighty percent of needle biopsies come back benign. Of the four areas where needles were inserted, ALL of them came back cancerous. I had cancer in three of four quadrants of my breast. My chioces were (confirmed by all five doctors) a lumpectomy of 3/4 of my breast followed by radiation or a mastectomy. Since I did not want radiation, I chose the mastectomy.
Due to my breast cancer history, I am now at a much higher risk for ovarian cancer, and my daughters are at a higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. I plan to undergo genetic testing soon to see if I have carry the BRCA I or II gene. If so, I may have passed it on to them. I struggle every day with the knowledge that my genes could make them sick no matter what health choices they make.
You and your husband seem very quick to blame illness on the choices that people make (they are overweight, etc.). I think this is an uncompassionate attitude to have. I made the right choices, most were very similar to the ones you are both making, and still got sick. I understand and believe in your zeal for a healthy lifestyle. I hope that neither of you ever gets sick. But please be compassionate towards those that do; they may be more like you than you realize.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeletePlease forgive the oversight...Ben was home on Wednesday, so I did not check for comments (which are sent to my email) until nighttime. By that time, your original comment was on the second page and I did not see it until after I posted your follow-up comment. I went back and looked for it after I saw the second comment. It was by no means intentional.
I absolutely have compassion for individuals who are sick. And I do believe that some people will get sick no matter what they do. But I also know that if a random person makes one comment, and I have no idea about his/her life situation, it is possible that s/he could have made some different decisions and then potentially would not have gotten sick. I would say MOST cases of cancer are preventable -- by no means ALL. But it's hard to tell who falls into which category simply from anonymous comments. I don't think I've said anything rude or unsympathetic specifically to you. If I did it was not my intention. I find it hard, looking at a mainstream world where I watch people walk down the street, clearly very overweight, eating candy, and talking about how they are on multiple prescription medications. Would I say anything to them individually? No, I'm sorry for their situation and I'm sure in a lot of ways they are simply uninformed or misinformed. But I am trying to spread different points of view here, so that IF people are interested, they are able to research alternatives for themselves. I do believe that a LARGE part of our health and our life is in our control. Not all, but quite a bit. Why would I, or should I, believe otherwise? Even if we do get sick, we still have options, choices to make.
So, to sum it up, yes, I feel compassion for those who are sick and no, I don't believe that everyone "causes" it. But people do need to take responsibility for their own health.
Anonymous -- you've obviously commented several times, why not share your name?
It seems we are in agreement. People do need to take responsibility for maintaining their health and, if they do become ill, take responsibility for the treatment options available to them. I hope that is what I did and that what none of the decisions I made was the wrong decision. I made the best decisions I could based on the information I had at the time.
ReplyDeleteI also think you are correct that every action we take has a consequence whether good or bad. However, I think you may not be considering how things change over time. Since you said your mother-in-law is in her late forties, I will assume you are in your early to mid-twenties. That means you haven't seen much change over the course of time that you have been making your own health care decisions. But over the course of your mother-in-law's lifetime, and certainly over the course of her mother's lifetime, medical knowledge has changed. For example, the link between smoking and lung cancer was not publicly known until the late 50's/early 60's. Before that time most adults smoked. When the link was established, public health campaigns began and smoking began to slowly decrease. The link between asbestos and lung cancer was discovered even later. Prior to knowing of the asbestos link, many homes were insulated with asbestos, and many public buildings (schools especially) still contain asbestos floor tiles. Lead paint is another example of a substance once thought benign that proved to be harmful. Some of the things we now think are benign will become the new cigarettes or asbestos or lead paint. When we know better, we change our behavior.
I understand that you are attempting to encourage people to change behavior to promote a healthier lifestyle. My point to you is that you seem very, very sure that YOUR way is the right way, yet you have a relatively short time perspective upon which to judge your decsions. I admire and respect the fact that you are trying to do what is best for your children and your family, but I'm concerned that you may be in for a rude awakening someday. Something you are doing right now will prove to be detrimental to your health or your children's health (think of all of the controversy about which postion is the correct position to put a child to sleep or about the correct age/weight to move a child from a booster seat to a lap belt). When you discover that you did actually do something wrong despite your best efforts, I hope you will be compassionate toward yourself and all of the others like you who made the same mistake. I also hope your children will be understanding of the younger, less-informed you.
By the way, I'd rather remain anonymous. Someday I will also be older, wiser, and better-informed, and I'd rather not have my naive opinions attributed to me for eternity.
Still wondering about your thoughts on the advisory panel's change of position on when women should begin mammograms. I'm sure you have heard that they again recommend the age 35 baseline and age 40 annual checks. How do you feel about this?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI think I did respond to that on another post. My personal opinion is that self breast exams monthly, combined with your doctor's manual screening annually, should be enough to alert you to any potential problem and decide if you need a mammogram or not. I personally will NOT be getting them. But, women should follow the recommendations they are comfortable with. I think that the recommendations got changed because so many women spoke out angrily, but I think that no one fully understands the benefit -- if any -- of annual mammograms for everyone, and women are scared of cancer and want to do whatever they can to protect themselves. I don't think mammograms are the answer at all, for protection, because they don't PROTECT, they only DETECT cancer that's already there. Much better to know your body well and to eat a healthy diet full of raw fruits and vegetables and healthy fats.
I agree but not all cancer present as lumps, and when they do it is too late. As you get older, I hope you will reconsider getting a mammogram. Or, even better, I hope they figure out what is CAUSING cancer. Even vegtarienas get cancer Kate. A good diet is a great idea, but no guarantee.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I wasn't scared of cancer. In fact, it never even crossed my mind since I, like you, thought I was well-protected because of my healthy lifestyle, eating, and exercise habits.
Best of luck to you; I hope you and your family stay healthy so that you don't have revise your (naive) opinions or count on the people you so scorn.