The Breast Diaries

Diagnosed with Breast Cancer as a New Mother, Sharon Shares her Story

December 6th, 2011

In 2003, my mom friend Sharon was relishing her role as a new mother in her early 40’s.  She’d given birth to her daughter in 2001, and was now busy chasing after an adorable toddler, navigating naptimes, bottles and diapers, while working in the banking industry in Manhattan.  Her husband and their brother-in-law had renovated and opened a beautiful new restaurant, and life was very exciting.

The Symptom Leading to Diagnosis

Sharon had gone for yearly mammograms since turning 40, and the test had always been reported as normal.  She had no family history of breast…

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Response to NY Times article: Mammogram’s Role as Savior Is Tested

November 2nd, 2011

Tara Parker-Pope’s recent article in the New York Times Science Section discounts the role of mammography as an essential tool in the quest to save women from premature death due to breast cancer.  She reports on the conclusion drawn by researchers Welch and Frankel from Dartmouth, who published a statistical analysis using epidemiologic data and computer software in this article in  Archives of Internal Medicine this month.  Their conclusion:  “Most women with screen-detected breast cancer have not had their life saved by screening.  They are instead either…

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Government Mammography Task Force Vs. You

September 26th, 2011

Top 9 Reasons Why the Government Panel Recommendations on Mammography are Bad for Your Health

If the 2009 USPSTF (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) recommendations are followed, as many as 20% of breast cancer deaths will be in women who could have been saved. The USPSTF knew this when they issued their report.

1. The Task Force’s own data shows that the most lives are saved by starting mammography screening at age 40, but they chose to ignore that data. They made a value judgment as to how much a woman’s life is worth. The science clearly shows that starting annual …

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