http://www.care2.com/greenliving/easy-new-breast-cancer-test.html
Easy New Breast Cancer Test
By Melanie Haiken, Caring.com
A new breast cancer test has arrived, called the HALO test, and it’s all over the news. This summer, HALO breast cancer test machines started arriving at clinics and doctor’s offices around the country, and ads and articles in local papers are everywhere. But, of course, everyone’s wondering: Who should have it and when, and where to get it?
Here’s the first thing you need to know: Women may not be offered this test by their doctors, at least at first, as it requires a special machine, and it’s not covered by insurance. Instead, in the near future, most women will take the test at specialized clinics and labs and pay the fee (usually between $75 and $150) themselves.
It’s also important to understand that unlike diagnostic tools, such as mammograms, ultrasounds, MRIs, and biopsies, the HALO test doesn’t screen for breast cancer itself. Instead it evaluates a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer in the future. Even if you have the HALO test, it’s important to get all your regular exams as well.
How does it work?
Unlike mammograms, which take an image of the breast tissue itself, the HALO breast pap test, as it’s officially called, tests the fluid inside the milk ducts, called nipple aspirate fluid (NAF), for abnormal cells. The official term for the condition they’re looking for is “atypical ductal hyperplasia.”
The machine works like a breast pump, pressurizing the breast and extracting fluid. However, only about 50 percent of women produce fluid in their ducts. If the test doesn’t find fluid, the test automatically reports a “negative for breast cancer,” since women who don’t produce fluid in their breasts are considered low risk. If the ducts do produce fluid, a sample is sent to a lab and results are available in a few days.
Because 90 percent of all breast cancer starts in the milk ducts, the test’s designers say testing this fluid can reveal changes that occur as early as five years before an actual breast lump, or tumor, would appear. A positive HALO test result reveals that a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer is four to five times higher than average. (A family history of breast cancer merely doubles a woman’s risk of the disease, so a quadrupling of risk is a significant increase.) However, only 1 to 2 percent of women who take the HALO test can expect a “positive” reading.
Who should have the HALO test?
This test is most important — and most effective — for women between the ages of 25 and 55. After that age, many women stop producing fluid in the milk ducts, but this lack of fluid doesn’t tell the whole story. Also, mammograms become more effective after age 55, so they’re a better tool for older women. Since annual mammograms are only recommended for women ages 40 and over, this test will be extremely important for women not yet having annual mammograms.
However, experts haven’t yet said whether women over age 55 should skip the HALO test, because if a woman is still producing fluid, the test could be an effective indicator. A conservative approach would say it’s worthwhile for older women to take the test once, and if they do have fluid, to keep taking it until they don’t. Also, older women with dense breasts might want to consider the HALO test as an additional screening tool.
Is it accurate?
The jury is still deep in deliberation on this one. The test’s manufacturers won FDA approval, but many experts say there’s simply not enough data yet to know how accurate the test will prove over time. The concern is that a woman who got a negative HALO test result might consider herself not at risk — and not have the other tests she should have. However, if you view it as simply another tool and continue to do all your other medical tests as necessary, it can’t hurt.
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15 comments
add your comment »I agree with Mary Ann. Tried and failed to send a green star.. For profit medicine is costing women their lives.
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I completely agree MaryAnn. Again, may we all learn and love our bodies and educate ourselves on what is REALLY going on, and what is out there that will support us. Thank you for speaking out about this--may all our intentions for more consciousness and basic compassion around women's health manifest (and soon!)
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Thank you Sheri B. for speaking about the Thermograms. That process has been available for a very long time, so why is it that NOW that we have another form of torture for women's diagnosis, that THAT is being promoted. Why on earth has NOONE taken up the torch to promote Thermography? The Pink Ribbon donations abound, and there are fundraisers galore, everywhere you turn, but what is the result? Breast Cancer Awareness ! ! Is there anyone who isn't aware of breast cancer? When there is an easy, non-invasive, painless, and more accurate, earlier detection method, where are the American Cancer Society and the Susan B. Komen org. ??? I do not, and will not support ANY breast cancer org. until they take a stand on Thermography and PREVENTION. Keeping your immune system healthy by methods that are free and inexpensive (another whole subject), will go a long way to avert any possible cancer. Of course that will only benefit women in this case, and not make billions of dollars in profits for many who promote the other painfull and inaccurate alternatives
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Amen is right, Michelle! Our [collective] anger is so justified! Seriously.
Thanks for writing, which allowed me to see if from your angle (most helpful and educational for me--made me think through into a deeper level too!) ;)
As for referring women to thermography--that would take an incredibly open-minded physician, at this point in time (at least in my area), as they do not yet, as far as I know, recognize thermography as a valid, helpful tool for detection (they would probably even warn against it, though they probably would know nothing about it, or something ridiculous.) So much fear and ego righteousness out there in this (and other) field. The modern medical industry, as many of us know, can be painfully closed-minded and unchanging. May this all change, and the sooner, the better! Of course, it starts with the individual--back to my point of self-love (including protecting) and consciousness.
Peace to you~Sheri
May we all question things, and demand the best for ourselves.
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Sherri, those are all valid questions, of course. And I hope that no one would go and take this kind of test without asking them first! With a breast pump, the suction comes in short cycles (meant to mimic a baby's suckling). But if the HALO procedure uses a more steady, constant suction, I suppose that might be more of a problem, possibly. I know that once or twice I turned the dial up too high on my breast pump and it pinched a bit. Obviously I can't do anything but speculate, as I've never had a HALO test!
We are in absolute agreement that women should do everything possible to inform themselves. Also, it's frustrating that doctors do not automatically recommend thermography for all women who are likely to experience great pain, as in Roxana's case, even if it meant referring her to a different facility!
btw, I could not agree with Roxana more about the fact that if this was a men's issue, the mammogram would have been revolutionized years ago. I remember a poem that circulated around years back, the last verse of which was:
"This machine was created by a man,
Of this, I have no doubt.
I'd like to stick his b*lls in there,
And see how THEY come out."
Amen.
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All very good points, Michelle. My intention is not to frighten anyone away from anything--except, perhaps blind trust and ignorance. To come from a place of being informed, and NOT trusting our bodies to others blindly, and demanding or ourselves and others that we not experience pain unnessecarily, and certainly not put our bodies in risk--there is enough of that without adding radiation from a test that is supposed to be preventing breast cancer, which I am sure for some it has, no doubt--but if there are other ways that do not do harm--would that not make more sense to push toward? I think so. These are my points, though I do hear and honor yours.
I wondered (and I am by no means asking you to answer this), if when you tried the breast pump, if you pumped your non-lactating breast hard enough to pull out regular breast fluid? How much suction does that take--and is it "discomfort", as you said when you tried the pumping, or would that downright pain. And, either way, can they tell before hand--before doing this procedure on the woman, if she was in that magical 50% group that would even have fluid come out? Either way, too, in the very least, I am sure most of us would agree that this is quite an unpleasant thing to go through in front of strangers in a medical environment.
Just the fact that I am in the minority, as I am sure most would agree--in terms of women, or people for that matter, that would even contemplate this to this extent, says something.
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Yes, Roxana. I have heard of many women having very similar experiences. And, yes, I have read and been told by holistic doctors that mammograms actually increase a woman's risk of breast cancer by a certain percentage with EACH mammogram.
I looked for links that you might find interesting/helpful (there are a TON of them.) It is refreshing, and a relief to hear, that you are one of the women who is waking up--or has woken up--to what her body should and should not have to endure. May it continue.
Links:
http://www.naturalnews.com/021849.html
http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/mammography/dangers.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/GoogleSearchResults.html?q=mammograms&cx=010579349100583850635%3Aw_kzwe9_yca&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Search#1388
My best to you~S
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Sherri, I'm sure it's a very individual thing. I have very sensitive nipples as well, but pumping never hurt me -- even when I tested it out before my milk came in. (I wanted to know what to expect!) Although I know other women who felt discomfort with breast pumps as well as nursing.
In terms of HALO, I'm more concerned with whether it's actually necessary, and whether it's as effective as this article would suggest. Dr. Weil, for one, seems rather skeptical on both counts:
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400544/HALO-Test-for-Determining-Breast-Cancer-Risk.html
Just a side note: I'm worried that it may be irresponsible to frighten women away from mammograms. Not all women have access to facilities that use thermography. Women who are concerned about radiation risk should definitely request digital mammograms, which use less radiation. They're also considered more effective than film mammography for women with denser breast tissue.
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Michelle, when I imagine having my nipple, an extraordinarily sensitive part of my body to begin with, hooked up to a machine that is going to suck out fluid that may or may not be in there (but is certainly not flowing out of me naturally--as with breast milk), which would take, I imagine, a very good amount of pressure/suction--well, I cannot imagine that not being painful. Now, that is just my guess, not ever having experienced it (not something I would run out to do however.) BUT, do you think that doctors, in general--and certainly not the people that made the machine and want to make money off of it--are going to tell you otherwise, even if it is painful? They DEPEND upon women being complacent--and entirely out of touch with their bodies. Again, my example with IUD insertion. They do not tell you it is painful--no one ever said that before I had one inserted. "Some discomfort" or "cramping" is what they tell you. Let me tell you, for me, and many women I would imagine, that description does not come close. Downright agony. Internal disembowlment was more like it-I am not exaggerating. And, understandably, in terms of the nature of the body/cervix. The cervix is a fiercely protective muscle NOT meant to open unless in childbirth and certainly not from the outside. We have to begin to realise that what they do not tell us is as important, if not more, than what they do. We need to start honoring & protecting ourselves and get clear on what is, and is not acceptable.
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Thank you for the in-depth explanation of this test, it's value, and how to effectively make use of it! Extremely insightful. Wonderful to get useful info without the hype!
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