And then we made the paper again! Pajama Angels believes that anything that stimulates thought is a good thing! We have never ever promoted Breast Thermography “in place of” but rather “in addition to”…
In the end, informed women make the best possible choices with their health care provider that is right for them and we believe in “empowerment, not, ”seduction” as the article depicts.
It is interesting how the Gold Standard of Mammography is questioned even within our own Medical system.
By Dr. W. Gifford Jones, Special to The Windsor Star December 15, 2011
http://proactivebreasthealth.com/featured_slider/mammograms-not-answer-we-need/
Re: Hundreds flock to yoga fundraiser, by Kristie Pearce, Aug. 29.
Instructor Susan Yoga Marcaccini leads a class at the Yoga 4 Hope event at the Vollmer Centre in LaSalle. The event raised money for breast thermography screening, but the process is not licensed in Canada, expert Dr. Winston Ramsewak warns.
Photograph by: Dan Janisse, The Windsor Star, The Windsor Star
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/health/Mammography+best/5368646/story.html#ixzz1ZB3HszeD
The event raised funds for 100 women to receive a free breast thermography screening through the Proactive Breast Health Program. Efforts to raise awareness of the value of breast health and breast cancer prevention and screening are invaluable, and this community is well-known for its commitment and generosity when it comes to this issue. We applaud the Pajama Angels for their commitment to breast awareness.
The Ontario Breast Screening Program, delivered through Cancer Care Ontario and the Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program is very committed to women being accurately informed and, consequently, is concerned with the promotion of thermography as an effective breast cancer screening test.
The article suggests that thermography can be used to screen woman as young as 20 years of age. Scientific, peerreviewed medical literature does not support the use of thermography as an approved screening method.
The government has not licensed thermography for breast cancer screening in Canada. No study has ever demonstrated that thermography is an effective screening method for the early detection of breast cancer.
The Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Medical Association, Canadian Association of Radiologists as well as the American Medical Association and American College of Radiology all agree that thermography has no value as a screening or diagnostic imaging tool.
Thermography is applied by non-medical personnel in an unregulated setting. It is important to note that a “normal” thermographic scan does not exclude breast cancer or other breast pathology. In fact, small, potentially curable and malignant tumours are the lesions most likely to be missed by thermography.
Women should not be seduced by the claim that no breast compression is required and there is no radiation and should not be deceived by false claims that thermography is the first step in breast screening, and it is certainly not in the public’s best interest for women to choose this unproven procedure in lieu of mammography.
Mammography is currently the most effective screening technique to detect unsuspected breast cancer. Mammography is the universally considered gold standard in breast screening, and the only breast imaging modality that has been shown in randomized control trials to decrease breast cancer mortality.
The Ontario Breast Screening Program provides women at high risk for breast cancer, aged 30 to 69 years, and all women aged 50 and over with the highest quality, accredited breast screening. Women aged 50 and over may self-refer.
Women under the age of 50 and not at high risk for breast cancer are encouraged to discuss their breast health risks and the benefits and risks of mammography screening with their physician or nurse practitioner.
All women need to be aware of how their breasts normally look and feel so they can bring any new changes to the attention of their health care provider. Healthy lifestyle choices can also reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer.
Living tobacco-free, maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active and limiting alcohol consumption are choices all women can make that will significantly contribute to breast health.
DR. WINSTON RAMSEWAK, radiology co-ordinator, Ontario Breast Screening Program, Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program
© Copyright (c) The Windsor StarRead more: http://www.windsorstar.com/health/Mammography+best/5368646/story.html#ixzz1ZB3HszeD
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