Medical researchers now recommend not only mammograms but also MRI screening for women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer.

The MRI is not a substitute for a mammogram, since mammograms still show a few things, such as tiny calcifications, that MRI does not.

However, MRI screening for breast cancer is expected to save lives, especially of women with dense breast tissue that tends to hide some cancers in mammograms.

Just when European drug companies have made herbal remedies and potent vitamins almost impossible (or illegal) to buy in Europe, and U.S. drug companies are doing their best to catch up, there’s this news.

According to recent medical studies, black cohosh, a cheap, common herb that some women take to prevent unpleasant symptoms of menopause, actually slows the growth of breast cancer. I hope more people read this story and draw the obvious conclusion: We ought to be able to take whatever herbs and nutritional supplements we choose. Sometimes the old ways are the best.

We must not let corporations deprive us of the right to natural remedies that have stood the test of time as safe and effective treatments for which no prescription is necessary. Of course, healthy people don’t buy as many drugs. So natural remedies and good nutrition will never be popular with ruthless capitalists in a society dominated by corporate interests.

Hmmm. Maybe you should plant an herb garden while you still can.