Abstract:
Story at-a-glance:
” The FDA secretly monitored the personal e-mail of a group of agency whistleblowers for two years. All of the monitored employees worked in the office responsible for reviewing medical devices, including those for cancer screenings and were expressing concerns over several devices. Some of the employees were harassed and/or terminated, and six of them are now suing the agency.
There’s a lot of compelling evidence that the dangers of mammography are being covered up, and that a Congressional hearing is well overdue.
While roughly 15 percent of women in their 40’s detect breast cancer through mammography, many other women experience false positives, anxiety, and unnecessary biopsies as a result of the test, according to the data. In fact, a full decade ago, a Danish study published in The Lancet concluded that previous research showing a benefit of mammograms was flawed and that widespread mammogram screening is unjustified.
According to the Cochrane Collaboration, for every 2,000 women getting mammography screening over the course of 10 years, just ONE woman will have her life prolonged. Meanwhile, 10 healthy women, who would not have been diagnosed with cancer had it not been for the mammography screening, will be misdiagnosed as having breast cancer, and will be treated unnecessarily. “
Full Post by Dr Mercola:
- Read The major cause of breast cancer almost everyone ignores, FoodConsumer, 14 Feb 2012
Press Coverage and Sources:
- Study reveals surprising cancer remission rate
Dartmouth Medicine, Spring 2009 - Some breast-cancer tumours vanish on own, study finds
Canada Health, December 2011 - Breast cancer surgery rules are called unclear
NewYorkTimes, January 2012 - FDA staffers sue agency over surveillance of personal e-mail
WashingtonPost, Jan 2012 - Screening for breast cancer with mammography
Cochrane Summaries, June2013 - The Swiss Medical Board recommends a reform in Breast Cancer Screening and fewer Mammograms, SMB, Dec 2013