 Tresa
Van Winkle, R.N.
Dear Ms Van Winkle, Thank you for the opportunity to inspect “Breast Mapping”. I find the product to be most creative and of definite interest in these times of heighten Breast Self-Examination (BSE) awareness. While the potential for BSE to aid women in the control of breast cancer has been recognized for more than 60 years, unfortunately, the efficacy of BSE as a screening tool has yet to be firmly established. With the publication of early results from the Shanghai study (Journal of the Nd, March 1997) which showed that breast self-examination has not led to a reduction in mortality from breast cancer, there has been a recent resurgence of interest in BSE. While at this time the study’s authors and cancer screening specialists are concluding that there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against BSE, as might be expected, extensive investigation into the practice of BSE is ongoing. Traditionally, the validation of any cancer screening test is through a randomized, controlled trial. Of interest would be a randomized, controlled study which investigates the use of “Breast Mapping” as a cancer screening tool to see if breast cancer mortality rates are improved with it’s use. Having validation of your product by use of the gold standard of cancer screening tests would certainly be of significant benefit in the promotion of it. Of concern would be the limitations that “Breast Mapping” places on the user-that of cost (traditional BSE has no cost involved to the patient) and of possibly limiting when a woman performs BSE due to her not having the tool available when she thinks of doing her exam. Obviously, any study investigating “Breast Mapping” would have to account for these concerns. I will be most interested to hear of any studies which support the use of “Breast Mapping” as a clinical recommendation in breast cancer screening. Again, thank you for sharing your development with me. Sincerely,
1515 Holcombe Blvd. Houston, Texas 77030-4095 Office (713)745-8040 Fax (713) 745-8060
“Breast-Mapping”® was designed as an educational tool and it should not be used in place of appropriate medical care. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information presented herein is accurate at the time of publication. New research is ongoing however, and therefore it is possible that the data and recommendations presented herein may be invalidated by new findings.
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