The benefits of yearly breast ultrasound instead of a mammogram and why some GYN doctors keep this life-saving information from their patients.
It’s hard to imagine a more backward, outdated, and damaging approach to detecting breast cancer than the annual mammogram. Place breasts between two plates, compress them hard (to the point of pain for some women), and douse with more radiation than 1000 chest x-rays combined (1 rad). All this … on an annual basis!
If you don’t have breast cancer already when you walk in the door, the chances are very real of developing it from repeated, annual exposure to this insanely high level of ionizing radiation! Worse, the vigorous breast compression actually encourages the spread of an existing malignancy.
According to Dr. Samuel Epstein MD, one of the world’s top cancer experts:
“The premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure [per mammogram] increasing breast cancer risk by about 1 percent, with a cumulative 10 percent increased risk for each breast over a decade’s screening.” (1)
Dr. Charles B. Simone MD, a former clinical associate in immunology and pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute, says:
Mammograms increase the risk for developing breast cancer and raise the risk of spreading or metastasizing an existing growth. (2)
The pure lunacy of mammogram screening is why I’ve never had one and never will, even though at my age, I am “supposed” to already have had more than ten!
So what does a well-researched woman who understands the dangers of mammograms do instead?
Thermography Not a Perfect Choice
Many women who have turned away from dangerous mammography are getting breast thermography instead. While this is a safe screening test, it is unfortunately not the perfect substitute for mammograms in all situations.
For example, if a suspicious area is noted during thermography screening, a woman still is forced to go get a mammogram to check it out further. This happened to me a number of years ago (story here).
At the time, I was bound and determined to avoid a mammogram no matter what. The only way I could manage this was to circumvent the system and have my (MD) Dad write me a script for a breast ultrasound only. Inexplicably, the vast majority of doctors won’t do this. Labs won’t do a breast ultrasound without a mammogram either – it’s such a racket!
The hospital radiologist who conducted my breast ultrasound discovered that the lump was just a clogged duct. But … she bullied me the entire time for skipping the mammogram even though there was absolutely no downside in doing so! In fact, skipping the mammogram and getting only a breast ultrasound on a yearly basis is the smartest way to go! It is also far less expensive than thermography.
HUGE Breast Ultrasound Benefits Over a Mammogram
It was astonishing to me the gigantic hoops I had to jump through and the doctor bullying I had to endure to get a safe breast ultrasound instead of a carcinogenic mammogram. The questions that swirled around in my head were:
Why are doctors and labs so aggressively blocking breast ultrasound as an alternative to mammogram as a first line diagnosis option?
Why are women forced to get a dangerous annual mammogram BEFORE they are permitted to get a safe breast ultrasound, which is far more effective at detecting breast cancer anyway particularly for the 50% of women with dense breasts?
You know the sad answer. Ultimately, it is a money thing. Mammograms make gynecologists and labs far more money than breast ultrasound alone. The fix is in when it comes to gynecologists, labs and mammogram madness.
Mammogram Monopoly is Starting to Crumble
The mammogram monopoly is starting to crash, however! Now any woman can choose to skip out on a dangerous annual mammogram and get a safe breast ultrasound instead.
Bonus: a breast ultrasound is far more effective at detecting breast cancer. So, the huge problems of false positives, misdiagnosis and overtreatment decline substantially too!
Best of all, you can NOW get a breast ultrasound without a prescription, which means you don’t have to beg your doctor to write you a script for one instead of a mammogram. Given my experience in the years since my Dad retired from medicine, you can do all the begging and cite all the research you want. THEY WON’T DO IT.
Why?
Mammograms are big business! If you want to avoid them, you are going to have to go a completely different route.
Here’s what I did. I discovered the company Herscan from a recommendation from an alternative physician. This company is FINALLY providing this long overdue service of breast ultrasound only without a prerequisite screening mammogram.
7 Benefits of Breast Ultrasound over Mammogram
Here are the 7 benefits of getting a breast ultrasound from Herscan and TOTALLY SKIPPING your annual mammogram – FOREVER.
- Breast ultrasound is painless with no breast compression. There is no radiation exposure, and it is implant safe.
- Your results are read by a Board-Certified Radiologist. HerScan Sonographers are Registered RDMS, and are highly experienced breast specialists.
- No Prescription Required!
- Breast ultrasound takes 15 – 20 minutes on average.
- Breast ultrasound is BETTER for ALL women, but most especially critical for the 50% of women with dense breast tissue. On a mammogram, dense tissue appears white and cancerous tumors also appear white making it nearly impossible to “see” the tumor. It’s like trying to finding a snowball in a snowstorm. Studies confirm that Mammography misses every other cancer in women with dense breasts.
- Powerful ultrasound technology can see breast abnormalities that cannot be seen by mammography or by physical exam. Ultrasound sees all the way to the chest wall!
- Breast ultrasound is about half the cost of thermography. No surprise that most insurance won’t cover it, but no worries! Herscan has a program to help women who cannot afford the test.
It’s time to break the back of the mammogram mafia in the United States. Women IN DROVES need to start opting out of these dangerous annual exams and take their power back by getting annual breast ultrasound instead.
Thank you to Herscan for this tremendously important, lifesaving service to all women! You can book your appointment today by clicking here.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this!!! As one with b.c. in family history, and one who embraces holistic and functional approaches, I REALLY appreciate the info! Have been wanting to do SOMETHING as I haven’t had a mamm in a few years, but thought thermography was my only option, and I only know 1 physician in my area who does it, charging around $1,000!
I registered and saw they’ll be in my area in 10 days, so I’ve made my appointment, and feel so much relief already!!!
Again, THANK YOU!!!
Hi Sarah, thanks for this article! Just curious, what do you think about the claims that ultrasounds can’t note abnormalities deep down in the breast tissue, and that ultrasounds can’t detect calcifications like mammograms? I’m in 100% agreement with you on this, and also appreciate the info on thermography and it’s limitations. Just curious about these claims.
Ultrasounds see much more than mammograms! They see all the way to the chest wall. This is why patients are finally “allowed” to get breast ultrasound AFTER one or more mammograms prove inconclusive. Why not just do the breast ultrasound from the get go .. it is better and safer anyway. If mammograms were better … there would be no need for follow-up breast ultrasound (or breast MRI) would there?
Beware of members of the Mammogram Mafia who will claim all sorts of things to keep hold of their profitable monopoly! I once had a radiologist deny that a single mammogram produces up to 1 RAD of ionizing radiation exposure even though this is a well documented fact. Some practitioners just close their eyes to reality because it is simply too lucrative and/or difficult to go against the flow and change even though it’s best for their patients long term health!
Whole breast/armpit ultrasounds take longer as a test than mammograms which is another reason why labs like them better. More $$ and patients through the door every day.
Dear Sarah, i also am wondering about the fact that ultrasounds cannot detect calcifications. I am horrified by mammograms and would prefer US for all the reasons you have mentioned, but what if there would exist these typically clustered calcifications, indicating cancerous activity?
My husband thinks dangerous calcifications, since they are the result of died off cancer cells, are just marking a problem spot, and there should also be a lump visible on the US were it serious. That, if there is no lump visible, reacting upon the spotted calcifications might just be one of those over-diagnostics, making you a cancer patient while in fact nothing disasterous is going on, except maybe some healthy reaction of your immune system that has been killing cancerous cells.
But he is no doctor. My last two checks were only US, and it has been almost three years since my latest mammogram.
Could you say something about calcifications in regard to strictly ultrasound checks?
Thank you in advance, Carin (Belgium)
It is my understanding that ultrasounds can detect anything a mammogram can and in far greater detail especially for women with dense breasts …. this is what I was told by my technician.
I am delighted with this article. I too have resisted mammograms since the last 3 I had they “called me back” for additional ones. They refused to listen when I told them they kept calling me back for the same thing and I was getting a double dose of radiation which of course the insurance company would not pay for because it was considered (at this point) diagnostic and deductibles applied.
This year I went to a dermatologist and she referred me to a general surgeon but they only did one breast (the one I had a question about). At first when they ordered the ultrasound, I got a call saying that they would not do the ultrasound until I had had a mammogram (since I hadn’t had one for about 6 years). So I told them, just cancel everything because I’m not getting a mammogram. A wonderful scheduling clerk took it upon herself to go to bat for me and I was finally allowed to get the ultrasound, but only on the one side. Everything was fine, and YES it is a much better screening and shows more.
Can;t wait to check out your links.
However, there’s this statement on Kevin Kelly’s Imaging site:
Can I have an AWBUS (Automated Whole Breast Ultrasound ) exam instead of a mammogram?
No, the AWBUS system is designed specifically to be used as an adjunct to your regular mammogram, not to replace it. When combined with the results of a traditional mammogram, the AWBUS can provide more detailed results and images that can be used to visualize and evaluate suspicious lesions and guide treatment for lesions determined to be cancerous.
I wonder if they’ll screen, without proof of previous mammogram.
In my experience, the only method that really works is an MRI.
I had constant breast cysts all my life with very dense breast tissue. They would redo imagining at one visit many times to get a good view. I can’t imagine how much radiation I was exposed to. I would also request an ultrasound along with the mammograms.
When I finally did get breast cancer….confirmed by a biopsy….the ultrasound I had previous to the biopsy and after the biopsy in the doctor’s office by a breast surgeon never showed the cancer.
It was only confirmed with an MRI.
I also advise strongly against women drinking alcohol. I took up the habit prior to my diagnosis. Just a weekend warrior.
But I know it triggered my cancer….it’s just a gut feeling.
Hi, Sarah ~ Just curious in the name of full disclosure: Do you receive any kind of kickback from Herscan for the recommendation you are giving them? Thanks!
I did not receive any compensation for this article nor did Herscan even know I was going to write it. I do not do sponsored posts on this blog and haven’t for a number of years. I did some a few years ago, hated the experience and stopped accepting offers for that type of writing. By the way, the FTC requires disclosure with those types of article. As you can see … there are no disclosures with this article, hence it was not a sponsored article 🙂
I have had way too many mammograms in my life but I’m not sure that sonograms are a good idea either. In Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health, Dr. H. Gilbert Welch makes the point that 97.3% of women die of something other than breast cancer.
Screening mammograms appear to reduce the already small chance of dying from breast cancer only slightly. Among women who receive screening mammograms annually for 10 years, the number of 60-year-old women (my age group) who benefit by avoiding breast cancer death is 1.7 per 1,000 screened. Therefore the number of women who do not benefit is 998.3. It seems to me that the same numbers would apply to sonograms.
Screening of any sort cannot provide me with any reassurance that I won’t develop aggressive breast cancer before my next scheduled screening. Screenings mostly find slow growing cancers that are not destined to become deadly. Aggressive breast cancer comes on quickly. If a woman gets aggressive breast cancer, there is a good chance it came on between routine screenings. A screening can give false reassurance that all is well when in fact, aggressive cancer may develop in the next few months. Conversely, over-diagnosis and false alarms cause real harm. Surgery is always risky and it may be completely unnecessary.
Hi Sarah. Thank you for the article. As a Natural Medicine Doctor (Chiropractor, Homeopath, Functional Nutrition) for over thirty years, and the daughter of a woman who had breast cancer, I have a very special connection to this topic. That is why I added high quality thermal imaging to my practice in 2006. I refer many patients for breast ultrasound and work closely with a radiologist. Additionally, because of my area, many of my patients also see Dr. Kelly, the inventor of Sonocine. Thermography was not meant to replace a test of anatomy like ultrasound or mammography or breast MRI. Thermography is a test of physiology or function. It is more of a health risk assessment because there is a long period of time typically between when cell duplication begins and a tumor can be detected. It’s like having your blood sugar checked and changing your diet before you become diabetic. Sometimes we do have to further investigate a change on thermal imaging, as you experienced, to be sure changes have not manifested into a diagnosable disease. Then when we know we have time on our side, it’s time to make lifestyle changes and get back to health. As a daughter, it gives me great peace of mind to look into the future, and know I’m healthy. Thanks for all your wonderful information.
Thank you so much for this. I am almost 47 and have resisted having a mammogram so far (had my last baby at 39 and nursed for three years, so that was my excuse for awhile). I saw a new doctor last month and of course she brought it up — and when I objected for all the reasons you mentioned, she said she’d rather I have an ultrasound than do nothing, which I thought was very open-minded of her. She did warn me that insurance might not pay for it, but she would order the ultrasound for me if I wanted. So thanks for the reminder to get on this!
Great doctor! She’s a keeper.
By the way, my insurance covered my Sonocine exam!