The Truth About Breast Cancer Screening: What Your Doctor Isn't Telling You

Episode 3: A conversation with Dr. Harriet Borofsky, who's been saving lives through early detection for three decades

What if I told you that the mammogram you dutifully get every year might be missing something critical? That the reassuring "everything looks normal" might not tell the whole story about your breast health?

This week on Kicking Cancer's Ass, I sat down with Dr. Harriet Borofsky, the breast imaging specialist who found my tumor and has been revolutionizing women's breast health for over 30 years. What she shared will change how you think about screening—and possibly save your life.

The 20% Problem No One Talks About

Here's an uncomfortable truth: mammograms miss about 20% of breast cancers. But before you panic, Dr. Borofsky wants you to know the flip side: "That means mammograms detect 80% of breast cancers or more." Even more importantly, mammography remains "the only imaging test proven by not one, not two, not three, but six randomized control trials to decrease the death rate from breast cancer."

But here's the kicker—and this is where things get personal for many of us.

Having a negative mammogram does not mean you don't have breast cancer. It simply means this screening test hasn't detected it.