Breast cancer rates are falling! The reason? Women, not doctors, have stopped listening to conventional wisdom. One website defines conventional wisdom as “ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public or by experts in the field.” For decades women have been scolded by “experts in the field” for not getting mammograms and for refusing their prescriptive hormone replacement therapies (HRT). |
Some of these experts refused to continue allowing women in their offices if they refused such standard and accepted therapies. As breast cancer rates began to decline, in 2007, the medical journal, Clinical Correlations, asked the pertinent question; why are they declining? The answer may shock you, but I was thrilled to read the article. “The group believes that the decreased use of hormone replacement therapy can possibly explain the decreased breast cancer rates. Other factors that were analyzed included less mammography screening.” Another website defines the opposite of “wisdom” as to “speak or act in stupid ways, then blame others for what happens.” The attitude in medicine seemed to be, “surely the rapid spike in breast cancer rates that we witnessed during the past few decades was the woman’s fault for choosing HRT and mammography screening!” As I write this blog, conventional wisdom is once again on trial. It seems that HRT is once again in the news. Specifically, the makers of HRT are paying doctors to actively promote these questionable drugs…. and many doctors are taking the bait! More tomorrow… |