Original article (in Albanian) was published on 19/11/2024; Author: Pustina Patris
Claim: Mammograms should be avoided because they cause breast cancer in women
Verdict: False
A video, which has gained more than 3,000 likes on Instagram, advises women to skip mammograms, alleging that the procedure causes breast cancer.
The woman speaking in the video is Jennifer Simmons, a doctor who also founded a breast screening company, which she markets as an alternative to mammograms. This screening costs $550 and utilizes quantitative ultrasound (QT), a method approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a complementary tool to mammography, not as a replacement.
Given that Simmons could profit if people believe mammograms cause cancer, this raises concerns about the goals and accuracy of her statement.
Breast cancer is a significant public health issue. In Europe, it is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Mammograms are an essential screening tool for the early detection of breast cancer, as they help identify potential problems before they become noticeable or symptomatic. They use X-rays to examine the breast tissue for signs of abnormalities, such as tumors or calcifications. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation regards mammograms as the ‘gold standard for breast cancer detection’.
X-rays are a form of ionizing radiation, which means that repeated exposure to sufficiently high doses can lead to genetic mutations that may result in cancer. However, the doses of X-rays used in mammography are low.
According to the American Cancer Society, the average radiation dose for an annual mammogram is 0.4 millisieverts (a sievert is a unit of radiation dose). In comparison, a person in the U.S. is exposed to 3 millisieverts of radiation each year due to natural sources in the environment. This means that, on average, a woman in the U.S. is exposed to a radiation dose seven times higher than the dose used in mammography.
It is estimated that a woman who undergoes annual mammograms from age 40 to 49 would develop a fatal breast cancer caused by radiation, on average, once every 76,000 to 97,000 years.
As a result, the American Cancer Society states: ‘The benefits of mammography far outweigh any potential risks from radiation exposure.’Similarly, the U.S. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering explains: ‘For most women, the benefits of regular mammograms are greater than the risks posed by this level of radiation.’Faktoje.al has also highlighted the advice of Albanian doctors on the advantages of mammography screenings in previous fact-checks of false claims.
