False health alarms change you?

[shootingstar]

I'm probably going to get a lot of flak for this. And to all you breast cancer survivors, this is in no way disrespectful of the choices you made.

I had a false positive mammogram this summer, and I've decided I'm not going to have any more mammos. All the reading that I did as a result, regarding breast cancer detection and treatment, made me decide that if I get a palpable lump, then I get a lumpectomy, and that's it. To me, the odds vs. the known ill effects don't support doing anything else.

Again, this is a very personal choice, and anyone here who still has mammos or who's had BC and chosen chemo and/or radiation, I completely respect that. And if the medical establishment ever bothers to develop and/or offer a more reliable detection method or treatments whose toxicity is more comparable to the risk of metastasis, I won't necessarily reject those, either.

ETA: I try to lead a reasonably healthy life, just because I'm fairly aware of my body and I hate feeling like cr*p when I eat the wrong foods, don't exercise, let my blood sugar get out of whack, drink too much alcohol, or inhale scary chemicals. I already knew I have to use moderation in the amount of soy I eat, I'm trying to reduce endocrine disruptors in my environment (and thus in everyone else's too), I don't use a lot of animal products, and what I do use are almost invariably organic and pasture raised. I'm far from perfect, but maybe a health scare like this might have more effect on others' lifestyles than it did on mine.

If your mammogram was false and your doctor didn't ask you to be screened next year...then you won't be.

I guess this must also depend on the health care system. I had my mammogram over 10 yrs. ago. Nothing was detected except for fibrous tissue. And that was the end of it for awhile.

Now just last month, the doctor did recommend that get a mammo. No hurry, whenever I get to it. Doctor did say there was a tendency for a doctor to request a mammo around 50 yrs. or so. I still think it's my 1 fibrous breast.

Then I found out there's a lineup of mammo booked appointments..for next 3 months. And I still haven't moved my butt...but I suppose will book the time even if it won't be maybe till...spring.

I don't get the connection of eating too much soy and what it does. I do eat tofu several times per month and its forms..ie. there's dried sheets that you can rehydrate and stir-fry up.

I don't really count soy sauce as having same benefits/properties as tofu, it's in a totally different form and it's the high salt/sodium that people should watch out. This weekend I nearly freaked out when watching a family nearby enjoying their sushi --with tons of soy sauce. Just a touch is necessary to add zip to sushi.. or any dish. Not 1/2 cup or even 1/4 c. for Pete's sake.

[OakLeaf]

If your mammogram was false and your doctor didn't ask you to be screened next year...then you won't be.

That's one of the ways your health care system differs from ours Mammography is very, very heavily profit-driven in the USA. Every woman is supposed to have one annually beginning at age 40, so whenever I see my doctor, she will ask me to be re-screened. I think the powers that be finally decided that we can stop getting mammos at age 80, but there's not complete agreement on that. Imaging companies have gotten laws enacted requiring that insurance companies and Medicare reimburse for mammography even when they don't cover most other screening, or any preventive health care. Imaging companies sponsor several charities that encourage women to get mammograms, and collect money (which winds up back in the imaging companies' hands) to provide mammos to uninsured women. Once we've had a false positive, we're supposed to have a re-screen every six months. Considering that statistically every woman who has regular mammos will have a false positive at least once in her life, that's a lot of mammos, a lot of expensive machines and a lot of radiation to vulnerable tissues.

I don't get the connection of eating too much soy and what it does.

Every woman's hormone balance is a little different, and as far as medical research goes, it goes both ways, but the better designed studies have come down in favor of unprocessed soy as a breast cancer preventive. In my body though, estrogen already tends to be out of balance with progesterone, and if I eat too much soy, that gets really exaggerated. Hugely swollen and painful breasts at ovulation, etc. Other women I know get muscle weakness from too much soy. In general, the more processed the product, the worse it is for me (protein powder>tofu or soymilk>edamame or dried soybeans). I don't mean I don't eat soy, I do. I wish I could get some yuba from your store because I can't get it here. I just don't buy soy protein powder and I don't eat soy every single day (which is actually a good rule for anyone for any food).