Mammograms - Putting on the Squeeze

I seem to be among the minority of women who don’t get routine mammograms. My friends gasp when I say I refuse to get them, my doctor has likely put a note in my file labeling me as a non-compliant patient and lately I’ve been getting reminders from my insurance company that I need to get in for my regular dose of radiation (my words, not theirs). Those reminders go directly into the circular file.

Here’s why I go against the grain.

Aside from the fact that I will not willingly put the girls -  the most tender and somewhat precious parts of my body  - into the equivalent of a vice (and then actually PAY someone to compress them ‘til they’re as flat as a frisbee), I’ve learned a few things along the way that have had a profound impact on my thinking, two of which have stuck with me and have kept me steadfast in my decision to decline the torture.

First - if there is a chance that cancer is already present, squeezing delicate breast tissues (which is what gets the squeeze during a mammogram) could actually lead to the spread of cancer cells to other places in the body through ruptured blood vessels.

Secondly - breast tissue is very vulnerable and sensitive to radiation. This means that by exposing yourself to the radiation of a mammogram to detect cancer, you could actually be creating an environment that helps to create cancer. Radiation exposure is linked to cancer, and it’s CUMULATIVE - once you get it (dental exams, broken bones, mammograms) you keep it. By some accounts, the radiation exposure in mammograms accounts for up to 20 percent of all breast cancers diagnosed annually.

Hmmm...creating cancer to feed the cancer industry. If you don’t think it’s become an industry just look at all the “pink” products .  C'mon.  Do you think KFC and Coca-Cola really care about eradicating cancer?!   And check out the latest info on Eli Lilly.  It's my understanding that they are the only company that manufactures rBGH, that artificial growth hormone which is given to dairy cows to increase milk production.  rBGH has also been linked to an increase of cancer in people.  So here's the kicker: Eli Lilly also manufactures breast cancer treatment medications and a pill that "reduces the risk" of breast cancer.   Most of us would call that a conflict of interest.  But for Eli Lilly, I guess it's business as usual.  Convenient - and profitable.

Back to the girls:  Compression and radiation?  Two good reasons for me to “just say no”.

Here’s the video about Eli Lilly.