Breast Massage vs. Self Exam
Breast Cancer Awareness: The Truth about Mammograms, Family History and Preventative Measures
I posted about breast health on Instagram last week and had an incredibly educational discussion with my friends and readers. We talked about mammograms low efficiency rate and the increased risk of breast cancer with each screening. We talked about alternatives and shared helpful stories.
In 2013, the Swiss Medical Board, a nongovernmental independent health technology assessment initiative, found that the benefits of mammography screenings didn't exactly outweigh the harms:
Over 21% of women were over-diagnosed; unnecessarily treated for breast cancer with needless surgical interventions, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or some combination of these
No evidence suggesting an effect of mammography screening on overall mortality
Large discrepancy between women's perceptions about the benefits of mammography screening and the benefits to be expected in reality
The average 50 year old women believes 16% of women die from breast cancer if they don't get mammograms, when in reality, it is 0.5%.
Mammograms also give false negatives. Around 15% of women with breast cancer were given the all-clear after a mammogram screening.
Additionally, leading cancer expert Dr. Samuel Epstein said:
"The routine practice of [mammography] results in approximately 1 rad (radiation absorbed dose) exposure, approximately 1,000 times greater than the dose from a single chest x-ray. Each rad exposure increases risks of breast cancer by about one percent, with a cumulative 10 percent increased risk for each breast over a decade's screening. Moreover, the premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation. Not surprisingly, premenopausal mammography screening is practiced by no other nation than the U.S."
Other Options
Thermography
This technique uses infrared light to detect hot spots in the breasts. This is a highly controversial method because the FDA says there is no evidence to support the claim it can detect cancer. A 2012 study showed it only detected a quarter of the amount of cancer that mammograms detected. Furthermore, in discussions with my readers who were experienced with thermography, it seems as though there were plenty of false positives with this method.
Ultrasound
Breast ultrasound, or sonography, is a noninvasive technique that emits sound waves over the breast. As the sound waves echo and bounce, they are converted into images on the a computer screen. This method isn't proven to detect early forms of breast cancer, but can prove helpful to identify troublesome lumps, particularly with premenopausal breasts. By the reaction during our instagram discussion, this is the preferred method of most women, though doctors will rarely use it as a breast cancer screening tool without a lump to examine. This method is also most effective with a highly trained healthcare individual who has plenty of experience examining ultrasound images.
Breast Massage vs. Self Exam
Because of the heightened level of fear around cancer in our society, doctors encourage women to do monthly breast exams to (fearfully) look for lumps or abnormalities. Our breasts are lumpy already, and depending on the time of the month, may be extra or less lumpy than usual.
The best way to know if there is a problem, is for us to be in tune with our bodies and know how our breasts feel throughout the month. Instead of a breast exam, I am doing a breast massage 2-4 times a month in the shower for 10 minutes at a time.
According to Susun Weed, breast massage, particularly with stimulating oils, can help "prevent and reverse cysts, dissolve troublesome lumps and repair abnormal cells. Breast skin is thin and absorbent, and breast tissue contains a great deal of fat, which readily absorbs infused herbal oils. The healing and cancer-preventing actions of herbs easily migrate into olive oil—creating a simple, effective product for maintaining breast health."
Now I'm not saying this can cure or prevent cancer, but it provides a relaxing way to get to know your breasts without frantically searching for lumps.
Once we have that familiarity, it allows an opportunity to easily recognize abnormal changes we can bring to our doctors, if necessary.
I will provide helpful resources for breast massage at the end of the article.
Warning Signs
Breast or chest pain
Breast tumors can take many different forms... all of growths cause different types of pain or discomfort. It is important to keep track of when, where and how often the pain occurs. Tell your doctor, being as specific as possible.
Itchy breasts
This symptom, mostly associated with inflammatory breast cancer, is often not noticed. It is extremely itchy, and it makes you feel like scratching. The median age of diagnosis for inflammatory breast cancer is 57 (54 among African-American women). If the doctor sends you home with an ointment or prescription, don’t hesitate to return if the symptoms don’t go away.
Upper back, shoulder and neck pain
The pain is easily confused with sore muscles. However, the pain doesn’t go away with stretching or changing position. Bone pain is a deep ache or throbbing. The first place breast cancer usually spreads is to the spine or ribs, becoming secondary spine cancer.
Changes in breast shape, size or appearance
Tissue growth may push out the shape or size of the breast without causing a glaring lump. Be particularly alert if you’ve been told you have dense breast tissue. Mammograms miss up to 50 percent of tumors in women with dense breasts. Study the shape and size of your breasts in a mirror. If there’s a difference in size or shape you haven’t ever noticed, tell your doctor.
A change in nipple appearance or sensitivity
One of the most common locations for a breast tumor is just beneath the nipple, which can alter the look and feel of the nipple. You may notice that one of your nipples sticks up less than it used to, or it might have become inverted, flattened or indented. There can also be a decrease in nipple sensitivity. Finally, there could be discharge when you’re not breast feeding, and it could be bloody, milky or watery. The skin of the nipple can become crusty, scaly or inflamed. Many breast cancers start in the milk ducts just under and around the nipple, affecting the nipple’s appearance or causing pain or discharge.
Swelling or lump in your armpit
Any pain in the armpit is a sign to check the area carefully with your fingers. A lump under the armpit is hard and doesn’t move when you touch it. It feels like a sore or tender spot under the arm. You may not necessarily feel a lump. In some women, the swelling is more prominent under the arm or under the collarbone. The lymph nodes in your armpit are where breast cancer spreads first, by way of lymphatic fluid that drains from the breast. Colds, flu and infection can also cause swollen lymph nodes, so if you’re sick or have an infection, wait for it to clear up before you worry. If a lump or tender spot in the underarm area persists for a week with no apparent cause, see your doctor.
Red, swollen breasts
Breast pain or redness can be signs of inflammatory breast cancer. They may feel swollen and sore, or the skin and underlying tissue may feel hot or look red or even purple. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most likely cause of this symptom. But breast tumors can also push on tissues, causing breasts to feel swollen and sore.
Preventative Measures
There are a number of helpful articles about how to help prevent cancer, I'll highlight some items from this piece, which you can review for full information.
Blood sugar management
Limited alcohol
Avoid conventional dairy or dairy in whole, as it is full of hormones, it's meant to grow a baby cow after all!
Avoid conventional coffee and high amounts of caffeine
Avoid soda and caffeinated green tea
Avoid non-organic fruit, vegetables and meat
pesticides mimic estrogen, soy and corn (fed to conventional livestock) disrupt hormones and are inflammatory foods
Avoid Trans Fats and vegetable oils
Avoid xenoestrogens, estrogen mimics found in:
Skin/Beauty Products (My favorite clean versions are listed here)
A recent study showed 99% of tumors in women being treated for breast cancer contained parabens! There are so many parabens the majority of beauty and skincare products!
Using deodorant/antiperspirant with Aluminum heightens the risk of breast cancer
Plastic
Food
Insecticides
Building supplies
Household cleaning products
Birth Control Pills
See full list of xenoetrogens with ingredient names
Discuss supplement your diet with your doctor with:
Vitamin D
Iodine
Organic decaf Green Tea
Turmeric
Methylated B vitamins
Cod Liver Oil
Magnesium
Family History of Breast Cancer: Genetics or Horse Urine?
Doctors ask women about a family history of illness, including breast cancer. But why don't they don't ask for their medication history? My maternal grandmother had breast cancer but was on Premarin, a synthetic Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) before developing breast cancer and dying several years later after a long, hard fight. Premarin is a synthetic estrogen treatment derived from the urine of pregnant horses shown to increase the breast cancer risk up 88% for women on the treatment for 10 years. When I tried to clarify my "family history" of breast cancer to a gynecologist several years ago, before I was even done speaking, she interrupted with "HRT didn't cause her cancer" without a second thought. I kicked her out of my exam room and left without letting her touch me. My mother and I aren't fearful of a "family history" of breast cancer, we are more cautious of cancer causing ingredients including the synthetic estrogen my grandma was on. We have learned about genetic markers along with synthetic (HRT) and bioidentical hormone replacement therapies (BHRT) and we continue to learn!
Genetic Predisposition to Breast Cancer
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) the "genetic predisposition to breast cancer has advanced significantly. Three classes of predisposition factors, categorized by their associated risks of breast cancer, are currently known. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are high-penetrance breast cancer predisposition genes identified by genome-wide linkage analysis and positional cloning. Mutational screening of genes functionally related to BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 has revealed four genes, CHEK2, ATM, BRIP1, and PALB2; mutations in these genes are rare and confer an intermediate risk of breast cancer. Association studies have further identified eight common variants associated with low-penetrance breast cancer predisposition."
Research shows "people who carry a mutation in either of these genes have a condition called Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) syndrome. They have an up to 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer by age 70. In addition, mutation carriers who have already been diagnosed with cancer have a significantly increased risk of developing a second cancer in the future."