[AlaskaAngel]

When one considers that over 50% of the bc diagnosed is known to be in women over age 65 (who are likely postmenopausal), and additional women over age 50 (who are also mostly postmenopausal) it means that the vast majority of bc diagnosed in any manner is being diagnosed in women with less dense breasts and who are postmenopausal. The medical system has invested in mammography and breast exams for ALL of us for first-line detection, with ultrasonography as second-line detection, which still probably works well most of the time for general breast cancer, since general breast cancer is what the majority of people diagnosed have.

So, we need something fairly inexpensive to use for the entire group of younger women (made up of both those who will develop bc at earlier ages when they are pre or perimenopausal as well as those who would go on to later develop bc when they are over 50 and generally menopausal or postmenopausal).

Imaging doesn't seem to work very well for younger people to find the cancer, and it also means cumulative radiation effect over a longer period of time for those who are tested annually and end up either never having bc at all or having it detected at an older age.

If cancer does involve inflammation, it makes sense to try to find tests that are less toxic and cheaper that will test for inflammation. The problem with testing for inflammation is that many things cause inflammation, not just cancer. Therefore, often tests like markers would show inflammation, but that doesn't always mean there is cancer.

It also might make sense to focus research on greater understanding of the endocrine system, since obviously it is involved, given that hormonal levels are involved in changes in menopausal status.

Again, we are talking about how to allocate resources. How do you get a medical system that already has mammogram equipment and trained personnel for that purpose to move toward finding less toxic, cheaper, and better testing for breast cancer for all patients, when "mammograms work okay for the majority who are diagnosed". Younger people with breast cancer are in the minority.

AlaskaAngel