What Do Mammogram Questionnaires Ask?

In the past two or more decades, the rate of breast cancer victims has rapidly increased. We have all become aware of this growing epidemic as more and more people have become active in the fight against this devastating plight. The meaning of pink ribbons is now common knowledge as the symbol of honor to those who are fighting to survive, as well as for those who lost the fight and are remembered, as a cure is continuously sought out.

As we look for a cure, we also search for the cause. With each mammogram there is a questionnaire in order to find commonalities among those who become afflicted with this life threatening illness. Each questionnaire is then handed over to the breast cancer research organization in order to use the answers to try to determine the causes of breast cancer. But what do these forms ask the mammogram patients? Do they ask the questions that will help in the fight against breast cancer? I am certain that are the intent, but what are breasts for? Why6 were they given to women in the first place? Not for men's enjoyment. Not to fit nicely into a sweater. And not just for an extra curve to a woman's already curvy body. Breasts are an extremely functional part of a human body. They were put there to nourish our children. They are made specifically to feed our young and medicate newborns with the immunities they desperately need.

Unfortunately, fewer and fewer women are breastfeeding. Not only can this severely affect the health of our children, but the premature drying period of a woman's breasts after birth can affect their own health. So why do the mammogram questionnaires fail to ask the most obvious of all questions? "Did you breastfeed or not?"

The mammogram questionnaires ask how many pregnancies you have had, if you are on birth control pills, have you had a hysterectomy, and what ages you were during pregnancies. The questionnaires ask if you have ever had breast or any other type of cancer. They ask if you have experienced lumps, discharge, or any abnormalities in your breasts. But they fail to ask if you breastfed or not.