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"  Given our vast advances in technology in so many fields, it remains incredibly frustrating that cancer screening and research, while more effective than it ever was previously, still has a long way to go. The terrifying projections released by the World Health Organization earlier this month, which predict that cancer rates are expected to rise 57% in the next 20 years, only emphasize this, and now, the BMJ has conducted a study with similarly disheartening results. According to The New York Times, mammograms, which have long been considered the first step for early detection of breast cancer, are not actually any more effective in saving lives than regular breast exams. In fact, in the study, the death rates of women who had received mammograms and those who had not were virtually the same. In addition, the researchers actually found that mammograms can be harmful, since one in five of cancers detected with mammograms did not actually need vigorous treatments like chemotherapy, surgery, and/or radiation, which are all extremely distressing to the human body. So does this mean that mammograms are pointless? Absolutely not\u2014some kind of screening is definitely better than none at all. What remains to be seen, however, is whether doctors and researchers can identify a new process for early detection that is significantly effective, as the disease continues to tragically touch the lives of thousands of people every day. Related: Broadway Star Valisia LeKae: &amp;quot;How My Cancer Diagnosis Changed My Life for the Better&amp;quot; Image: Courtesy of Getty Images "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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