22/10/2023
Mammogram: YES or NO?
“Should I get Screened ?”
By Dr. Cécile Bour, Radiologist
Since the Nordic Cochrane Collaboration alert in the 2000s questioning the effectiveness of mammography screening and pointing to its risks, new studies have emerged in 2023, evaluating the overdiagnosis caused by screening on the rise.
Meanwhile, a recently published systematic review suggests that life expectancy gains from mammography screening are uncertain and unlikely.
Unfortunately, women are deliberately left outside the loop of this new knowledge and are still subjected to the promotion of screening without being informed of its risks and harms.
It's time for this knowledge to finally progress and become accessible to all women in all countries.
The book "Mammogram: Yes or No ", first published in French in a paper version in 2021, is now available in English in ebook format for a wider, English-speaking audience.
This is a practical book for all women who have questions about breast cancer screening.
A handbook for women
Based on patients' questions heard during consultations, the author, a Radiologist practicing in France, provides the information needed to help every woman better understand the implications of screening and to be aware of its drawbacks.
As closely as possible to scientific data, she strives to answer such questions as..:
"You're sure you'll see everything if you get a mammogram, an ultrasound, or an MRI, right?"
"There are ten women at my workplace. We all have screening mammograms because one of us will get it. I've heard it's one in every eight! Is that correct?"
"I read that the cure rate for breast cancer is 90%. Is this true?”
"The Radiologist informed me that it was a very small cancer. Isn't it true that the earlier it's discovered, the better?"
"Shouldn't mammograms be done earlier, before the age of 50?"
"What is overdiagnosis?"
"Is it really so bad to detect harmless cancers?"
Why?
Because they've never been presented with the data in a balanced way, some readers are only now likely to discover that the appropriateness of breast cancer screening is scientifically debatable.
Women will find clarifications to the fundamental questions that every woman asks herself without necessarily finding answers on the official sites. They can discuss with their doctor and make their choice, following the principle of an informed decision, whether they live in a French-speaking country or beyond our borders.