Here are some other interesting studies:

Dr. Laura Esserman published the most powerful and important of these articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2009. Dr. Esserman and her colleagues explore U.S. public health data, and point out hard truths. For starters they note that cancer diagnoses increased, and never came back down, after mammography screening was introduced. This is not minor. An effective screening test shouldn’t increase cancer diagnoses. It should allow doctors to find the same cancers, but earlier. There may be a bump when screening begins, but the numbers should soon return to their baseline. Mammograms, however, permanently increased these numbers, which means they identify ‘cancers’ that never would have been found. That’s not early detection, that’s extra detection.

This would be fine if the extra detection came with a life-saving benefit, i.e. if the dangerous cancers were being found early enough to make a life-saving difference. But Esserman points out that deaths never dropped  (as they should have) after the introduction of mammography.

Less than a year after the Esserman paper, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported breast cancer mortality statistics from Norway before, during, and after the introduction of mammography. Norway’s experience is notable because they used mammography in selected regions only. Breast cancer deaths dropped where mammography was phased in. Encouraging. But deaths also dropped where mammography wasn’t available, and the drop was of equal magnitude. This strongly suggests that breast cancer treatments, and not mammography screening, were responsible for the decrease.

It can be said that mammography is still valuable as a diagnostic tool when a lump or abnormality has been found but not for routine screening.

Prof Gotzsche also questioned the value of self-examination as it does not appear to make any difference to a woman’ s survival chances.  Obviously, I promote the benefits of women checking their breasts on a monthly basis and so I will continue to investigate this further.

Nikki Mattei – Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

Here in the UK many women also have these inferior implants and yet our government is not planning any action.  Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, insisted the estimated 40,000 British women with PIP implants “should not be unduly worried”. She said: “We have no evidence of a link to cancer or an increased risk of rupture. While we respect the French decision, no other country is taking similar steps. Because of this, and because removing these implants carries risk in itself, we are not advising routine removal.”

France, as a country, believes in adopting the precautionary principle, as I do.  For example, they have banned the use of mobile phones by children.  Furthermore, my campaign is called “Healthy Breasts For Every Woman” and even if these implants do not cause cancer, the inflammation means not having healthy breasts.  Also a court hearing in Cardiff next month will see lawyers apply for a group litigation order, so that a class action could be launched against at least six clinics.Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James solicitors which is representing more than 250 women, said some clients complained of inflammation, fatigue and fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal pain disorder, which, if not cancer, are still unwanted conditions.

Nikki Mattei

Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

The lifestyle risk factors considered for women (for all female cancers not just breast cancers) are as follows, starting with the highest risk to the lowest.

· Overweight

· Alcohol

· Occupation

· HRT

· Inactivity

· Not breast feeding

· Radiation

It should be noted that being overweight is only a risk factor in post-menopausal women and in pre-menopausal women it actually reduces your risk by 20%. Now that is not a reason to overeat this Christmas.

The one area here which has not been considered, as always, is our exposure to chemicals. It could be seen as a lifestyle choice although, really, we are exposed to so many chemicals in products which we cannot control, that is a matter of “contaminated without consent”. In this research the only place chemical exposure was included was in relation to Occupation where women could be in contact with dangerous chemicals. I had a quick look at this list and you might be interested to know that it included Formaldehyde and Mineral Oils, both of which are found in cosmetics and other things in the home.

I will be looking at the research in more detail and will report on any more interesting findings.

If you want to read more now, go to the Cancer Research UK website

Nikki Mattei – Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

Personally, I think this proposal puts the mother before the baby and I think that basically it is all based on the pain associated with childbirth.  Obviously, there are births when an emergency c-section is essential for the health of the mother and baby but it should be the exception rather than the norm.

I believe it is true that a woman’s body is designed to have babies and having a natural birth is so important for mother and the baby:

• Instant bonding and easier breastfeeding
• The mother’s figure returns to normal quicker without invasive surgery and she can walk and drive
• She will experience joy and fulfilment
• The baby is born when it is ready – when an unborn baby’s lungs are fully matured, it releases a hormone signal which is picked up by the mother’s body
• The baby is coated and protected by fluids as it moves down the birth canal, giving better immunity against germs, bacteria and micro-organisms
• The baby’s head is massaged by the birth canal stimulating its brain and spinal cord.

I do hope that when women are counselled about having a caesarean (also at additional cost) that they will be told about these benefits rather than just the risks of having surgery.

Nikki Mattei – Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

There are, of couse, also false negatives where the cancer is missed altogether and not discovered until a much later stage.

Clearly, the issue of whether to have a mammogram is a difficult one.  The other risk which should be made clear to women too, in my opinion, is the potential danger of the radiation to which the woman is exposed.  It is accepted that radiation can cause cancer.  In the US, if a woman has had more than 30 mammograms and goes on to get breast cancer, she can sue.

It is also important to note that the majority of breast cancers, around 90%, are detected by the woman herself and then mammography can be used in a diagnostic way rather than as routine screening.

I believe that women should be made aware of all the risks surrounding mammograms and then they can choose which risk they want to take.  I will be 50 in January and I will be very interested to see the information I am given when I am called for my first mammogram.

Nikki Mattei – Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

I was really interested when I first saw the trailer for this new programme on Channel Four as I am a firm believer that many of the modern illnesses are a result of the poor diet that a large proportion of the British population feeds itself with.

I also agree that we are a nation that expects to be given a “pill” to cure all our ills. 

So I am delighted that this programme is “using food as medicine”.

I was obviously interested to see the twins, one of whom had breast cancer, and the advice to follow a mediterannean diet.   This ties in with the advice given by Chris Woollams in his book, “The Rainbow Diet”, which you can buy through the “Read This” page of this website.  However, I was also particularly interested in the lady suffering from polycystic ovaries (PCOS).  I always mention in  my talks in the workplace that young girls are often put on the pill to help with this condition but that a visit to a nutritionist should be the first point of call before using synthetic hormones.  Although, the lady was not totally cured, it was great to see the huge impact which changing her diet had on her.

If you want to read more about the programme and see some of the conditions they will be covering, go to http://foodhospital.channel4.com/

Nikki Mattei

Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

There is a theory that a woman’s spatial ability, which helps with manoeuvres like parking, is affected by the amount of testosterone she gets whilst she is developing in the womb.  The more you have, the better you can park!

I read one lady’s comment on Facebook  that since she has lost weight, her breasts are now a lot smaller (after all breasts are mainly fat) and she finds parking a lot easier.  So another good reason to lose weight!  Remember too that the smaller your breasts are, the easier it is to check them.

Nikki Mattei

Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

The world’s largest study into the genes that cause breast cancer in men reveals similarities with the female disease but also identifies some differences that could potentially lead to tailored treatments.

In the research, a collaboration between Breakthrough Breast Cancer and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), the team studied 433 male breast cancer cases and looked at the 12 most common genes that contribute to risk of breast cancer in females. They showed that five of these genes significantly affect risk in men too, but that the extent of risk was different between the sexes.

The team also believe that the results could improve understanding of the genetic causes of female breast cancer as well. Some of the results will be taken into analyses of the Breakthrough Generations Study, which is following 100,000 UK women for 40 years to find the causes of female breast cancer.

Nikki Mattei

Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

For breast cancer, women who take moderate exercise for 150 minutes a week have a 40% reduced risk of dying and recurrence than those who take less than one hour’s exercise a week.

In my Breast Health Talks, I inform women of the benefits of exercise in prevention too and in the maintenance of good health.  When we exercise we pump oxygen into our bodies.  Cancer cells don’t need oxygen to survive, in fact they don’t like it.  So the more oxygen you get into your body, the better.  As the charity’s Chief Medical Officer says “If physical exercise were a drug, it would be hitting headlines”.

I am taking bookings now for talks in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  If you have a contact in an HR Department, please direct them to my website www.bestthinkpink.com.  I will thank you with a gift when they book – contact me for more details.

Nikki Mattei

Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign

The researchers concluded that better treatments and improving health systems were the main factors for these improvements, not screening.  In the UK we are still told that screening saves lives (although around 90% of breast cancers are found by the woman herself or her spouse) and women are urged to take mammograms on the NHS despite the potentially damaging radiation.

Nikki Mattei

Healthy Breasts For Every Woman Campaign