One third of cancers detected by mammography may not be life-threatening according to the November of 2012 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Over the past 3 decades, an estimated 1.3 million women have been over-diagnosed of breast cancer that has led to treatment for a cancer for which they did not need treatment.
Many of these cancers are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which in 97% of cases does not shorten life expectancy. However, many are invasive cancers that will spontaneously resolve on their own. Autopsies of women at age 50 show that 30% have an invasive breast cancer. However, many of these resolve because nowhere near 30% of women of this age will die of breasts cancer.
So, we're in desperate need of a breast cancer screening test that is accurate, does not cause cancer, and is affordable. While there is no ideal test today, breast thermography is the closest test that fulfills these criteria.
