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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Do You Really Need a Mammogram?

There are a number of news articles today that merit your time.  The first is an opinion piece from the NY Times by Charles Blow, who says, "the dreadful monotony and morbidity of the gun control discussion in this country has left me dispirited."  That's how I feel.  Read the entire article here:  

The second is an article by the editorial board of the NY Times, discussing the out-of-date practice of not allowing anyone who has commited a felony to vote ever again in their whole life.  Attorney General Eric Holder says this is a ridiculous plot devised years ago to keep newly freed blacks from voting.  Arizona was not a slave state during the Civil War, yet the laws here prevent any young person who makes a bad decision (and a lot of them do!) but serves his time, pays his fines, and does what is required of him, doesn't get reinstated to his pre-conviction status.  The Attorney General is urging legislatures to change these outdated laws and allow every citizen who has paid his debt to society to again be allowed to participate in this most basic privilege.  Here is the entire article. 

The longer I live the more studies show that a lot of previous studies turn out to be wrong.  I remember when doctors encouraged every menopausal woman to use "hormone replacement therapy."  I, too, tried it for a little while, but then I thought it through and came to the conclusion that Mother Nature probably knew what she was doing.  Females are meant to stop having babies when their bodies are growing old and not as capable of recovering from a pregnancy, or when biologically speaking they are approaching the end of life.  So, believing that millions of years on this planet counted for more than a few years of studies by people who were making millions of dollars on selling this idea, I stopped.  And guess what?  Soon thereafter, the longitudinal studies began to show the harmful side of HRT.  More cancer, more heart problems.  Now a recent study is claiming that all these millions of mammograms aren't having any effect on the mortality rate of women with cancer.  So if you skipped your last mammo, don't worry about it.  Do a self-exam.
Are Mammograms a Waste of Money?

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