[cancercured] Re: How Accurate Is Your Mammogram Reading?

I can understand what you are saying szukipoo, but the trouble with an MRI is that the number of false positives are really, really high. So, then what you'd have to do is decide do I biopsy every single one of those masses they saw on the MRI, or do I leave them. And which ones shall I leave? Well, you don't decide on your own, but you see my point. The false positives are a real issue. There will be lots and lots of "iffy" findings because the MRI is just so sensitive!

MRI's are fabulous for young women with dense breast tissue who are already known to be very high risk, but even in them it throws up a lot of false positives, of course. The point is that if they are carrying, say, a BRCA 1/2 gene it is worth the definite risk of false
positives.

Not all relatively young women have dense breast tissue. It is worth knowing what kind of tissue you have. I thought mine would be dense because I am 44, small breasted, and my sister has dense breasts. But I just have "normal" breasts. So a digital mammogram was fairly good for me, but perhaps much less useful in a younger woman with more dense breasts. Of course, I don't think you can tell what kind of breasts you have before the mammo! Perhaps MRI's show you the density but I don't think ultrasounds do.

And speaking of the ultrasound. A great tool, for sure, but not great at finding all types of cancers. What is terrific about the ultrasound is that it is safe. Same with thermograms, which I've also used (once so far). But I would have had to pay for my own MRI if I wanted it to be used just as a screening device and at £800.00 (1600 US dollars), and with a contrasting radioactive dye, and with all the very probable false positives....hmm.....didn't seem right.

But, yes, if you are going to get an MRI, just skip the mammogram. No need!

Marti

szukipoo@... wrote:
You are missing the point....you don't need a mammo..you can find out
everything you need to know with ultrasound and MRI.

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cancercured/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cancercured/join

(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:cancercured-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:cancercured-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
cancercured-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/