It is one part of my breast cancer screening tool box. I talked about mammograms last week and why I won’t be getting one. I promised you alternatives. One alternative won’t be enough. Just like a mammogram isn’t enough.
The over view of an ultrasound: Sound waves are bounced in your body and back providing an image of your internal topography so to speak. This shows the tissue and bones, it also shows density and vascular activity.
This is from: http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/types/ultrasound
“If an abnormality is seen on mammography or felt by physical exam, ultrasound is the best way to find out if the abnormality is solid (such as a benign fibroadenoma or cancer) or fluid-filled (such as a benign cyst). It cannot determine whether a solid lump is cancerous, nor can it detect calcifications.”
Depending on your age, mammograms may not be able to detect lumps no matter what kind they are. After menopause the composition of your breast turns from densely packed milk glands to fatty tissue. Those milk glands are had to determine from a lump of any kind.
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I go back 6 months after the first screening to do another ultrasound. This will give them a good base line. From there you could go once a year. I will go 2 times a year as my family history is VERY clear. My appointment is in November for the follow up ultrasound. I’ll let you know what happens!
This is super easy here in LA. If you don’t have health insurance or obamacare, or your insurance won’t cover it, there is an ultrasound clinic here that takes $50 cash. Boom. Easy.
If you’re not in LA look into finding one close to you! Just google “ultrasound clinic” and your town or wider area. If there isn’t one super close then make a really fun trip of it! Get a sweet hotel or Air BnB spot, take a road trip, or visit a far away friend/family member! These things should be coupled with fun and healthy treats!!! Heck, if you can find a clinic that has a spa nearby you’ve reached nirvana! In LA there are Korean Spas. At around $20 you get all day access to jacuzzis, saunas (a must for heavy metal detoxing!) steam rooms, salt rooms (combats environmental toxins like smog), cold pools (flushes toxins from your muscles and organs), and most have a few other rooms. My favorite has an infrared oxygen room (oxygen therapy is used for cancer treatment and infrared detoxes you at a cellular level!), and a mugwort aka angelica tea pool (which balances hormones for women)! They all have little restaurants and napping areas with heated floors in them too!
I highly recommend starting your ultrasound scanning ASAP. Establish a base line, while you are healthy. Don’t let anything scare you. Just do it. My ultrasound said there were cysts and they want to have me back in to make sure that’s a normal part of my breast tissue. It’s beyond common to have ‘abnormalities’. They aren’t really abnormal it’s just that they are different for everyone therefor a Dr can’t say your cysts are in the right or wrong spot.
Be brave, this is painless, there is no invasive rays or damaging chemicals. You’ve got this!!!
Here’s a great article about ultrasound helping to prevent unnecessary biopsies:
http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/articles/studies-show-how-breast-ultrasound-reduces-unnecessary-biopsies
As always these breast cancer posts and any other posts are not claiming to cure cancer, or in way mean do this and you’ll never get cancer or any other disease ever. I myself may not be able to avoid it. However read, talk to your Dr and make decisions of your own. I’m not a Dr. I’m just a very informed and loud individual. No you may not hold me liable or sue me.
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