That's Fit

According to this article from HealthDay, the interpretation of diagnostic (not screening) mammograms can vary, depending on the radiologist looking at them. To make sure that you get the most accurate interpretation of the results, health experts recommend that you:

• have your mammogram done at a location that has a breast-imaging specialist, or at least where the radiologist reads a significant number of mammograms a year.
• visit the same facility every time you have a mammogram, or at the very least bring your past films with you. Your radiologist needs to read the results on a continuum, or by looking at past images.
• have your mammogram done at a facility where there is more than one radiologist, so that, if necessary, consultation is possible.

Interestingly, experience doesn't seem to make a radiologist more accurate. Though experienced doctors were less likely to biopsy a false positive, they weren't as good as newer radiologists at picking up the cancer in the first place.

Imagine a world with no boob-smooshing mammograms, no feeling guilty about forgetting to do your self-exam, no worry over is-it-or-isn't-it, a world where screening for breast cancer is as easy as putting on your bra. That world doesn't exist yet, but at least someone envisions it. Researchers from the UK have developed a bra with an embedded microwave antennae that scans the breasts to detect breast cancer at the earliest stages, when it's most curable.

Of course, there's no word yet on whether the device actually works or is even safe, so don't go holding out hope just yet. In the meantime, keep up with those self-exams and mammograms and other good prevention habits!

Good news for women everywhere! After decades of steady increases, the rates of estrogen-dependent breast cancer -- the most common type -- plummeted a whopping 15% in 2003. The rate of all breast cancers in women of every age dropped 7% that same year.

Experts are cautiously pointing to a study that came out in 2002 that named hormone replacement therapy as a risk factor for breast cancer. Many women stopped using HRT -- then the gold standard for relieving symptoms of menopause and thought to prevent heart disease and osteoporosis -- and sales of the drug plummeted by 50% within 6 months.

The theory is that, without estrogen to feed them, tiny cancers in some women failed to developed or even regressed. The news is a hopeful step in better understanding breast cancer, but some experts caution that the disease is tricky, and the explanation may not be so simple.

Still using HRT? For some women, the benefits outweigh the risks. When symptoms of menopause are severe and last more than four years, HRT may still be a prudent choice. The best course of action is making an informed decision with your doctor.