A massive new study finds that nearly half the women who get chemotherapy for breast cancer don’t need it.
The surprising findings show that thousands of women are subjected to the harsh side effects of chemo without getting any health benefits whatsoever.1
Chemo patients often suffer hair loss, severe fatigue, pain, nausea, and many other hard-to-bear side effects.
The long-awaited clinical trial included nearly 6,700 women at 11 medical centers. The $53-million study began in 2007.
It “represents what we in medicine call the highest level of evidence,” said Dr. Jose Baseiga. He is president of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Test Saves Women from Needless Suffering
The study used a genetic test call MammaPrint to analyze breast tumors. It examines the expression of 70 genes to assess a cancer’s aggressiveness. The test has been available for a decade. But it has not been widely used.
Instead, oncologists usually decide whether a woman needs chemo by measuring her tumor, looking at the cells under a microscope, and considering other factors. Since a mistake can be fatal, doctors generally err on the side of chemo.
But the new study shows that the MammaPrint test can much more precisely predict which women need chemo.2
Women with a low MammaPrint score have a five-year survival rate of 95% regardless of whether they have chemo. In other words, chemo does absolutely nothing to help women who score low.
And many of these women are now routinely given chemo. Researchers estimate that nearly half the women slated for chemo based on standard clinical assessments don’t really need it. In the wake of the study, MammaPrint promises to become a standard breast cancer test.
Dr. Harold Burstein of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is not connected to the research. He called the study “heroic” because it will spare so many women needless suffering from chemo.
MammaPrint has been approved by the FDA since 2007. But many cancer doctors have waited for the results of this trial to see how well it works. The cost is $3,000-$4,000. It is covered by Medicare and most private insurance.3
If you know someone with breast cancer, be sure to show her this article.
Now we have proof that chemo helps only a handful of women with breast cancer. But even for patients who do see a benefit, there are better, safer, more effective options.
Why don’t you hear about these natural ways to fight cancer?
Carol R., a retired schoolteacher, developed breast cancer in 2009. Mainstream treatments scared her. So she went to a specialized health facility in Wichita, Kan., for an all-natural treatment.
Now she says, “Not only is the cancer gone from the inside, everything has improved…head to toe…skin, nails, hair, teeth, eyes…everything. I feel stronger than I did 20 years ago—which is amazing because I thought I was healthy then!”
For details on Carol’s treatment—and about others who have healed from it—go HERE.
In Good Health,
Angela Salerno
Executive Director, INH Health Watch
Like this Article? Forward this article here or Share on Facebook.
References:
1https://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/breast-cancer-news-94/many-breast-cancer-patients-don-t-need-chemo-study-finds-710061.html
2http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/862194
3http://www.forbes.com/sites/elaineschattner/2016/04/21/mammaprint-a-molecular-breast-cancer-test-is-having-a-moment-early-mindact-trial-results/#7f557cc861e7