Friday, March 4, 2011

What to do if You Have a Strong Family History of Breast Cancer

First, you should see your doctor and be tested for a BRCA DNA mutation. If you are positive, some have advocated prophylactic surgery to actually remove the breasts. A Danish study has found that such a radical procedure is probably unnecessary. Instead of annual screening with mammograms, MRIs are performed. This recommendation now applies to all women with a 20-25% risk, even if the BRCA tests are negative. I would add breast thermograms to the annual testing, and I would definitely give some chelation treatments to reduce toxic metals, one of which is gadolinium, which is contained in the dye used in MRIs. An accumulation of toxic metals increases the risk of cancers and heart attacks.

See Family Practice News (click here), January, 2011, p. 4.

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