Mammography Screening: Truth, Lies and Controversy [Paperback]

Peter C., M.D. Gotzsche (Author), Iona Heath (Foreword), Frank Visco (Foreword)

Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: Radcliffe Medical Press; 1 edition (March 31, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846195853
• ISBN-13: 978-1846195853
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 1.1 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Make a difference. Read it. Tell a friend. April 10, 2012

By robert w dupriest

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Mammography Screening: Truth, Lies and Controversy [Paperback]
Peter C., M.D. Gotzsche

This is a great book. If you are interested in breast cancer you must read it. If you have concerns about ethics in medical research and the influence of self-interest, power, or money on research and publication, this is the book for you. If you are a woman undergoing routine screening, you will want to read this. If you are a physician who deals with cancer or women you must read this book.

This is the personal story of an heroic Danish researcher who was asked by the Danish Board of Health to "take a look at" breast cancer mammographic screening because of a pending vote. The book details a 10 year odyssey and battle to expose the truth and lies and harms of routine mammographic screening. Peter Gotzsche discovered that no one knew, or at least no one was discussing, the harms of screening, and further, that the benefits were severely overrated.

The basic premise of screening, "find cancer early, treat it when it is small, results will be better," is questioned. Does screening decrease the number of mastectomies? No, and you will discover why. What has happened to the incidence of breast cancer since screening has started? Why is there such an increase in the number of women being treated for non-malignant breast disease (called cancer in situ)? Has screening decreased the amount of advanced breast cancer? Clue: no. Why does a decrease in 5 year breast cancer mortality mean nothing?

If you start to get bogged down in the book, jump to the last few chapters. To see current recommendations from Dr. Gotsche see this:[...]

Finally, Dr. Gotsche will explain how to decrease the incidence of breast cancer by one-third.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Important examination of a harmful fad May 16, 2012

By J. Harvey

Screening mammography has been a largely unexamined patient harvesting project based on marketing, emotion and testimonial rather than science and critical thinking. Overdiagnosed by Welch touches on most of the research documented here but is not nearly as detailed. Over the next few years as awareness of our collective error spreads, we will see the age of genuine patient centered medicine. This book is one of the cornerstones of that movement.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book! Be your own Breast Health advocate. October 18, 2012

By gaeapowell

Amazon Verified Purchase

Amazing book everyone should read. Very well written and insightful. We have heard the spin from the Breast Imaging business model for decades. Unfortunately, very few know all the facts, risks and benefits regarding mammography. Sadly, most do not realize there are other choices that may be better options: Thermography, ultrasound, MRI and Self Breast Exam. The author does not have a horse in the race and is very courageous to push back against the powers of the Radiology Society of North America, American College of Radiology, American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics who all have a mutli-billion dollar financial stake in proclaiming mammography as the "gold standard", which it is clearly not. [...]