Why Getting a Mammogram Might Not Be Enough

Unfortunately, the breast cancer rates have sky-rocketed over the past several years, and this aggressive form of cancer is no longer uncommon in women in their late 20s. On the other hand, the cancer detection tools, methods and equipments have also evolved, and mammograms are undoubtedly part of the “heavy artillery” in terms of early cancer detection and treatment. The sooner you discover the cancer, the more chances you have to treat it efficiently – however, there are some factors that may influence the result of the mammograms, and it appears that dense breast tissue is one of them.
Mammograms should be performed regularly for women over the age of 40, and not only. However, it is a known fact that dense breast tissue may interfere with the doctor’s ability to read the mammograms, as it can conceal any potentially cancerous lumps, given the fact that dense tissue appears white on the scan, just like the tumors that may raise concern. Statistically speaking, approximately half of all the breast cancers in women with very dense breast tissue are missed, simply because it is almost impossible to detect a white tumor in a white background, and what’s most concerning is that 40% of all women who get mammograms these days turn out to have dense breast tissue.
Simply put, the breast tissue becomes very dense when the fibrous and the connective tissue is more dense than it normally is, and this is precisely what lowers the sensitivity of the mammography. Unfortunately, there is no specific guideline that teaches women with dense breast tissue what should they do if their mammograms cannot be read. The studies surrounding dense breast tissue are not clear enough, and nobody knows for sure whether this type of tissue may even increase the risk of breast cancer or not. One thing is for sure, though: in some states of the United States of America, such as the state of Connecticut, women are advised to get either an ultrasound

test

or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test if their mammograms have come back inconclusive, due to dense breast tissue. The topic of dense breast tissue is certainly subjected to a lot of controversy these days, and while some doctors and medical professionals claims that additional tests such as the MRIs or the ultrasound tests may increase the detection of breast cancer, thus improving the life expectancy of the patient, others say that they are totally unnecessary and that there are no tests or data showing that undergoing such types of scan are effective.

Why You Should Embrace Your Depression

Depression is one of the most common and dangerous health conditions of the 21st century, second only to obesity. It affects millions of people worldwide, and while some of them suffer from mild and temporary depression that typically resolves by itself, others suffer from a deep state of depression where they are feeling down and hopeless all the time. As a matter of fact, as much as 7% of the world’s population is said to be suffering from depression, and only a small percentage of those actually do something about it. While being depressed is certainly a negative thing that can seriously impact your life, it also has its upsides. Here are seven reasons why you should embrace your depression – accepting it and realizing its advantages is a big step toward overcoming it!
1. It Can Help You Focus on the Things That Truly Matter
Few of us actually realize how important certain aspects of life are until we get depressed and start to analyze everything on a greater, deeper level. We often tend to take things for granted without thinking twice about them. For some of us, especially for those who have artistic inclinations, depression tends to focus their mind on the most essential problems of life. Taking Darwin as an example, he is known to have suffered from chronic depression, and it was that deep sadness and pain that helped him analyze everything – a trait that helped him greatly when developing his evolutionary theory. For some of us, depression can be the tool we need to create greater things – things that we may otherwise be unable to create if we were always content or happy.
2. Depression is Sometimes the Mother of Creativity
It’s widely known that some of the world’s greatest

writers

and painters created their masterpieces when they were depressed or deeply hurt. It is almost an unwritten rule of the universe: when you experience a high level of sadness and depression, you tend to create deeply moving things. This is precisely what makes depression such a huge paradox these days, since for some of them depression is often associated with a lack of focus, determination or motivation. Some of those who are depressed simply feel like staying in bed or inside the house for days or even weeks. Others, though, get an inspirational outburst when they are depressed.