Cancer screening should not be misconstrued as a form of cancer prevention. Preventing breast cancer is far more important and powerful than simply trying to detect it after it has already formed.

Two major studies published in the British Medical Journal and JAMA Internal Medicine have shown that mammograms, long thought to save lives, have done little to reduce late-stage cancer, and that up to half of all “early” diagnoses have not saved a life, but have instead led to overdiagnosis and therefore overtreatment.

Another study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, aptly titled “Mammography Screening Is Harmful and Should Be Abandoned,” shows that even decades of screening have done nothing to reduce breast cancer mortality. This is even in the face of millions of new and supposedly “early-stage” or “stage-zero” cancers that are being diagnosed, inflating survival rates.

In undergoing mammograms, women are exposed to radiation—which, as we know, is a cause of cancer. The lower-dose ionizing radiation used in mammography has been shown to be up to four times more carcinogenic than high-dose radiation. Christiane Northrup, M.D., an author and expert on women’s health, warns that “getting regular mammograms is actually more harmful because you are subjecting your healthy breasts to cancer-causing radiation.”

The cancer industry spends virtually nothing of its multibillion-dollar resources on effective prevention strategies, such as guidelines and information about diet, exercise, exposure to environmental estrogenic toxins and deficiencies in micronutrients. It pours money into treating cancer, not preventing or curing it.

Regular self-examination, along with thermography and ultrasound, is a safe, painless way to detect breast cancers early. It is environmentally safe, radiation-free, and safe for pregnant or nursing mothers, young dense breasts, fibrocystic breasts and implants.

A critical difference between thermography and mammography is the ability to detect problems early enough to use preventive measures, rather than detecting disease at a stage where treatment is imminently required. When combined with anatomical testing, such as an ultrasound, thermography can reduce the number of false positives and overtreatment of breast cancer by demonstrating whether a tumor is metabolically active.

Thermography can also be used for general breast health assessment. As toxins and excessive hormones create increased heat patterns in the breast, monitoring these heat patterns is an excellent way to promote wellness and visually monitor the response to various health approaches and treatments.

With thermography as your regular screening tool, you’re more likely to have the opportunity to make adjustments to your diet and lifestyle to transform your cells before they became cancerous. You’ll also get clearer results and fewer additional tests. Isn’t this what women want? Talk about true prevention!

Patricia Bowden-Luccardi is a certified thermographic technician, a licensed massage therapist, a certified neuromuscular therapist, a member of the Professional Academy of Clinical Thermology and a certified Whole Health educator. She practices at Dr. Kaushik’s Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Clinic, located in Yellow Monkey Village, 792 Rte. 35, Cross River, NY. To contact her, call the office at 914.875.9088, or call her directly at 518.929.7579.