Comments on: Breast Self-Exam Controversy: Despite What You Have Heard, It’s Still a Good Idea

By: jovita escano

jovita escano — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:46:58 +0000

I have found a lump on my breast accidentally while I was in the shower. I then proceeded to have a self exam. Then i made an appointment to my ob-gyn and she referred me to a surgeon. All of this in a span of 3 weeks. Now they found a 0 stage ductal carcinoma in Situ, which is non invasive. But again the size is vast that she wanted to reopen and get also a biopsy on the right breast.
I am going through the procedure in a week time. I have confidence that my cancer, which was detected at a very early stage will be eradicated from my system

By: Jennifer Lyall

Jennifer Lyall — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:45:16 +0000

Has anyone tried radiation free thermography to screen for breast cancer? My naturopath’s office offers this service once/twice per year, but I haven’t tried it.

I’d love more info from someone who’s tried it.

I agree that self exams are very important… a friend of mine is a breast cancer survivor… she’s in her early 30’s!

By: pldrake

pldrake — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:18:41 +0000

thanks for the comments. Why do they always evaluate breast cancer strategies on reduction of deaths? Maintaining a high quality of life while alive is important as well. I too see no harm in teaching self-examinations, whether or not they ultimately uncover a person’s breast cancer. Why not do both self-exams as well as other tests? To say not to do self-exams is absurd; I was screaming at my tv set when I heard reports to that effect on CNN, etc. Many do discover their breast cancer lumps this way, as others do via mammograms. If we are not going to provide funding for mammograms for persons under 40, we must provide alternatives. (And I’m saying this as an eight-year survivor whose breast cancer was discovered only via mammograms — but I had the luxury of being over 40 at the time.) We can and must encourage both self-exams and regular testing via mammograms and other related means.

By: Gail Perry

Gail Perry — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:02:47 +0000

““I wouldn’t ever tell a woman [of a certain age] not to practice breast self-exams,” he says. (For younger women in their teens, 20s, or even 30s, self-exams may not be worth it because the risk is so low in those without a family history, Dr. Thomas says.)”

I am so FRUSTRATED I could scream! Even those who encouage self-exam JUST DON’T GET IT! Women in their twenties CAN get breast cancer. What in the WORLD does it hurt for them to learn to do a good check? And BELIEVE ME women in their 30’s can get it. My mother did at 38 — and there was NO FAMILY HISTORY at that time. Her mother got it, but not until that woman was in her 80’s, thirty years later.

If my mother hadn’t found that lump in time she would have died. Because she found it, she died 31 years later of soemthing entirely unrelated. SHE found the lump, and she DID save her own life.

IT HURTS NOTHING. DO THE BREAST EXAMS. Learn how to do it. Do it BEFORE YOU’RE THIRTY so YOU can spot what is different about YOUR breasts EARLY. Your doctor won’t know your body the way you do in this regard.

Lordy I don’t get it — WHY do all these experts feel they have to put “if’s, ands and buts” on something that is so completely non-invasive???

By: Karen Lynch

Karen Lynch — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:27:12 +0000

Great summary, thank you for sharing it with your readers.

Paul McGee at the American Cancer Society left a comment on my blog post about this issue (at http://www.pinkribbonreview.com) — as did a woman from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation — both of their opinions are worth reading.