The real controversy surrounding mammograms is the number of "false
positives," not the number of "false negatives." A number of experts are
becoming concerned that too many women are having to go through painful
procedures all because of the false reading of mammograms.
On the other side of the coin, mammograms can, and do, miss tumours at early
stages, and give false negatives. So, the only sure thing, really, are
biopsies.
Pain, or the lack of thereof, is not an true indicator. True, malignant
breast tumours often are not associated with pain, but then the presence of
pain doesn't indicate malignancy or healthy cells.
You're going through what millions of women go through every year, I'm sorry
to say. :-(
Kat
On Mon, 23 Sep 2002 14:09:04 -0400 "Cleveland, Kyle E."
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I talked to my mom this weekend and she said
> that she'd read that mammogram
> results were becoming suspect (only about 70%
> accuracy). Is this true?
> Wouldn't they do a needle biopsy or an
> ultrasound first? Since the "lump"
> is right under the areola, do they put the
> whole thing between the glass
> (still trying to figure out how that works)?
> I've also heard that if the
> lump/nodule is painful, that's indicative of a
> benign mass. Is this true
> too?
>
> -Kyle
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kathy Salkin
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 1:01 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: To Put Things in Perspective...A
> Hundred Years Ago...
>
>
> Your wife is right, Ken. If it weren't so
> important, I wouldn't do it, but
> it's awfully important in finding breast
> cancer.
>
> Kat
>
> On Mon, 23 Sep 2002 11:33:53 -0400 "Barber,
> Kenneth L."
> wrote:
>
> > Oh, I understand from my wife that they are
> > painful anyway and no, a man
> > don't have that much to put between the
> glass.
> > Hope it is nothing serious.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Cleveland, Kyle E.
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 10:54 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: To Put Things in Perspective...A
> > Hundred Years Ago...
> >
> > Thanks for asking, Bobby. Yeah, I'm still
> > among the living. Get this one:
> > Saw my family doc last week and I
> off-handedly
> > asked her about a sore spot
> > on my right pectoris. To make a long story
> > short, I gotta go have a
> > mammogram! Not really worried, but there
> ain't
> > much to put between the
> > glass. I know this one's going to hurt!
> >
> > -Kyle
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: BG Greer, PhD
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 10:03 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: To Put Things in Perspective...A
> > Hundred Years Ago...
> >
> >
> > Kyle,
> >
> > It's good to have you back. Are you
> feeling
> > better? I hope so. You can
> > never trust people from Tennessee! LOL
> >
> > Bobby
> >
> > >-Kyle
> > >
> > >(Good to be back in the "world" after a
> week's
> > worth of simulations and
> > >exercises. Anybody see the Marines "attack"
> > Dayton, OH on CNN? I heard
> > >CNN were covering the "festivities", but we
> > didn't have access to regular
> > media.)
> >
>
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