Thermograms NOT Mammograms

[Dr. ZZ]

Kudos to Rita Rimmer for offering $99 thermograms (see coupon in the left-hand column of the WQmag.com home page) as a safe, efficient, non-invasive alternative to mammogram breast disgnostics.

The American College of Physicians has recommended that women in their 40s consult with their doctors before undergoing routine annual mammography screening. An expert panel from the American College of Physicians (ACP), which represents 120,000 internists, made this recommendation in the April 3, 2007 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

After reviewing 117 studies conducted between 1966 and 2005, the panel found the data on mammography screening for women in their 40s are so unclear that the effectiveness of reducing breast cancer death could be either 15 percent or "...nearly zero."

The panel pointed out that benefits must be weighed against the harmful effects of mammograms, including exposure to radiation and unnecessary biopsies, surgery, and chemotherapy.

Dr. Amir Qaseem, lead author of the ACP guidelines, stated "It is important to tailor the decision of screening mammography by discussing the benefits and risks with a woman, addressing her concerns, and making it a joint decision between her and her physician." The ACP noted cancer risk varies from woman to woman, and decisions about annual mammography screenings are best made on a case-by-case basis.
The ACP pointed out for women who have a known high risk of breast cancer (family history or early menarche, for example) annual screenings are appropriate.

The group is not opposed to mammography, but rather questions the efficacy of annual mammography exams commencing at age 40.

"We agree that mammography can save lives," said Douglas K. Owens of Stanford University, who chaired the committee that wrote the guidelines, "But there are also potential harms. We don't think the evidence supports a blanket recommendation."

The dangers of mammography are recognized in the medical field. According to Dr. Samuel Epstein of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, "Screening mammography poses significant and cumulative risks of breast cancer for pre-menopausal women. The routine practice of taking four films of each breast annually results in approximately 1 rad (radiation absorbed dose) exposure, about 1,000 times greater than that from a chest x-ray. The pre-menopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure increasing breast cancer risk by about 1 percent, with a cumulative 10 percent increased risk for each breast over a decade's screening. These risks are even greater for younger women subject to 'baseline screening.'"

The coalition reports women who carry the A-T gene are especially prone to risk from early mammography screening: "Radiation risks are some four-fold greater for the 1 to 2 percent of women who are silent carriers of the A-T (ataxia-telangiectasia) gene; by some estimates this accounts for up to 20 percent of all breast cancers diagnosed annually."

"Mammography is used primarily as a tool to recruit new patients into conventional cancer treatments, regardless of whether they would actually benefit from such treatments," said Mike Adams, author of Natural Health Solutions and the Conspiracy to Keep You From Knowing About Them.

"The breast cancer industry harms ten women for every one it helps. It is an industry of greed, profits, and scare tactics," Adams added.

At the heart of the current blanket recommendations to begin annual mammography exams at age 40 is the American Cancer Society (ACS). Robert A. Smith, director of cancer screening at the ACS, responded to the new recommendations stating, "The danger here is that some women will elect not to get screened. Mammography is the single most effective way of finding breast cancer early, and when we find breast cancer early, women have the greatest chance of successful treatment." Just last month the ACS advised women who are at a perceived "high risk" of breast cancer to also undergo annual MRIs.

Resources: http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/mammography/dangers.htm

[Rita Rimmer]

Thank you, Zae, I couldn't have presented this position any clearer. I have been providing breast thermogram in Sarasota for the past nine years and have decided not to fight the "system" so hard. Women innately know that mammograms are potentially harmful but have been told that mammography is the only way to find breast cancer early. Unfortunately, when mammograms do 'find' breast cancer early, it's already at a late stage of development -- most cancers have been developing 3-5 or more years.
The women who seek out breast thermography are those women who think for themselves and what's best for their bodies. They investigate options and question their doctor's "orders". Unitl we all realize that breast health -- and health, in general -- is our responsibilty and should be in our control, with only the guidance of our doctors, I'm afraid many more of us are going to receive this horrid diagnosis and die from this horrific disease. We want to believe and trust our leaders and our doctors, however, every one of us must be aware of the intention of our doctors, leaders and industry -- making profits!

[admin]

Here is a copy of the coupon you mentioned in your article.

[Bonnie Salerno]

My daughter and I have chosen this form of breast health for the past 6 years. It is painless and we feel that we get a closer look at what is really going on. Rita allows us to look at our results together and discuss what actions are appropriate depending on what the results are.
Bonnie

[Debbie Amon]

I have been to Rita for my breast thermogram and I am very confident and comfortable with the procedure. My sister has had mammograms every single year and she was recently diognosed with Breast Cancer. After that, I decided to do some research and educate myself. I was surprised to find a lot of very positive studies about thermography. I also learned a lot of things I did not like about mammography.

I just want to alert everyone to do their own due diligence. It kinda makes you think a little harder about it when you here about SOOO many women getting breast cancer.

[Dr. ZZ]

90 PERCENT OF ALL BREAST CANCER CASES ARE NOT HEREDITARY

About four years old, Dr. Christopher Hussar of the Cancer Screening and Treatment Center in Reno, Nevada told me that my biggest predisposition to cancer was the 19 mammograms I had had throughout the course of my life. By then, I had already come to a similar conclusion on my own and had stopped having mammograms in 2004. But quality thermograms are not always easy to find. During the four years I lived in Las Vegas, for example, I was unable to find a single resource for thermograms in the entire southern Nevada area.

As far as I can tell, doctors and hospitals are reluctant to recommend thermograms for three main reasons:

1. They have already purchased expensive mammography equipment that they have yet to pay for, and they need patients like you and me to help them pay the bills;

2. They don't have the time -- let alone the interest -- to research outside the box;

3. The FDA and Big Pharma have drilled so much misinformation into medical schools and the medical professional that the most intelligent echelon of our society (i.e., the doctors) have become SHEEP.

Ladies, do your homework. In the final draw, only YOU are responsible for what you decide to do to your body.

So what that that your insurance company will pay for mammograms and not for thermograms? Most insurance companies will also pay for the complete amputation of one of your legs; and, of course, you wouldn't want that.

We are fortune to have Rita Rmmer offering a safe and effective alternative to mammograms right here in Sarasota. Do the research.

[Diane Lane]

I just did Thermogram with Rita Rimmer last week and received my report yesterday. It was painless and quite interesting. As well, it allowed me to see other areas of my body, which there are indications of inflammation ~ in my neck, upper chest and back. Being a massage therapist, this let me know I likely have inflammation in my lymphnodes, and definitely inflammation in my upper back muscles, likely due to doing massage and not receiving massage often enough. As well, we saw some inflammation in my face and we assumed it was due to sinuses or dental issues. (I went for my dermatology check-up on Monday and it turns out I have a Basel Cell Carcinoma on the side of my face.)

Basically, with the Thermogram I saw more of what is going on in my body than just a mammogram showing what is going on in my breasts. I feel blessed to have experienced this technology and have an understanding of what needs addressing with regards to my body. Nothing here is major, but it certainly would be in time had I not been made aware.

Diane Lane, LMT
941.374.1281

[Jack Alexander]

Bravo for these apt and timely insights! Having had cancer as a child, I have been cancer-free at this point for over forty-six years. Below is a worthy follow-up on breast cancer treatments from Newsmax.com. Let's keep in touch on this collectively, and let's keep spreading the word:

A Third of Breast Cancer Patients 'Treated Needlessly'

One-third of women diagnosed with breast cancer in public screening programs are treated needlessly because their tumor will not be life-threatening, the British Medical Journal reported Friday.

Scandinavian researchers highlighted the dilemma facing doctors when it comes to detecting and treating breast cancer. Not all breast cancers kill, though.

In some cases, the cancer will grow so slowly that the patient will die of other causes before it produces symptoms, or it might remain dormant or even shrink over the years.

Because doctors have no idea whether a cancer will be lethal or harmless, they tend to treat all patients diagnosed with a tumor. But cancer treatment, using powerful drugs, radiotherapy, or surgery, causes harm.

So it is vital to know how many patients may be being treated unnecessarily, especially given the huge investment in having women undergo regular mammograms.

Karsten Jorgensen and Peter Gotzsche of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen pored over data from screening programs in Australia, Britain, Canada, Norway, and Sweden.

They looked at trends seven years before and seven years after the programs were implemented.

They found that, when screening programs were introduced, doctors did indeed spot more cases of breast cancer — but also treated more women who would not have needed it.

"One in three breast cancers detected in a population offered organized screening is overdiagnosed," they said.

In an accompanying editorial in the British Medical Journal, Gilbert Welch, a professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Research in Vermont, said the findings raise key questions about the trade-off between deaths the screening programs avoid and the harm treatment programs inflict.

One study has suggested that one death is avoided for every two women who are overdiagnosed, while another puts the ratio far higher, at one death avoided for every 10 cases of unnecessary treatment.

"Mammography undoubtedly helps some women but hurts others," Welch said. "No right answer exists. Instead, it is a personal choice."

Copyright AFP

Newsmax.com
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[Wendy Flessel]

DOn't you need a doctor's referral to have a thermogram?
I just found your coupon. Will you be extending the expiration date or offering it again in the future?
Wendy, Silver Threads EMbroidery

[WQ|mag Admin]

No you do not need a doctor's referral. I will be getting Rita on extending the coupon. I will let everyone know. Wes

[Rita Rimmer]

Wendy Flessel said:

DOn't you need a doctor's referral to have a thermogram?
I just found your coupon. Will you be extending the expiration date or offering it again in the future?
Wendy, Silver Threads EMbroidery

[Rita Rimmer]

Wendy Flessel said:

DOn't you need a doctor's referral to have a thermogram?
I just found your coupon. Will you be extending the expiration date or offering it again in the future?
Wendy, Silver Threads EMbroidery

[Rita Rimmer]

Hi Wendy,

No, a doctor's prescripstion or referral is not required -- you can be self-referred. I have extended thi coupon special until October 30. Hope this helps....