Breast Thermography

Recently the US Department of Health dropped a bombshell on unsuspecting women in North America with the recommendation that 40-50 year olds need not have routine mammograms. They went on further to suggest that after the age of fifty, women should only have a mammogram once every two years instead of the previous recommendation of having a mammogram every year beginning at age 40. Citing a high prevalence of false positive test results along with anxiety and unnecessary invasive interventions such as biopsy and overtreatment. In addition, they made a secondary recommendation that Doctors not teach women BSE (Breast Self Examination). This announcement has created a huge controversy in the media and I would like to add a few other reasons why routineĀ screening and the reliance on one rule applying to every woman is actually misleading and inappropriate. Unfortunately, women under the age of 50 often do get an aggressive form of cancer which would most benefit from early screening and detection; however, I do agree that mammograms are not the most effective method of screening women in this age group.

Breast self examination is vital, especially since 70% of all breast lesions are found by women themselves. One of the most important things a woman can do for her breast health is to become comfortable with BSE. The use of one's own hands is an excellent method for a woman to get to know what is normal in her own breast. Women need to become proactive and take control of their own health. Not just breast health, but overall health. The breasts are only one part of a woman's anatomy and breast cancer is not a local problem, it is a systemic problem.One should consider infrared thermography, a devise initially developed by the military to measure the infrared spectrum (heat). Over the past 40 years, this technology has been perfected and is used to detect heat in the breasts that is created when the body increases blood supply to feed abnormal cells in the breasts or inflamation. Thermography is applicable to all women, especially the group between 40 and 50, and for those who have dense, fibrocystic breasts or implants. It is a completely safe (there is no radiation, there is no body contact), non-destructive screening method that has been proven to be effective.The problem with routine mammography screening is that as long as the screening is negative, there is no need to do anything. Or is there?

A huge study of 29,000 patients was published in 2002 suggesting that Mammography leads to unnecessary surgeries and that in fact, more needless operations are being performed than before the technology was developed. The current method of screening with mammography is solely based on negative or positive findings. Why wait and see, let's do something about it while we can. A woman imaging her Breasts simply has to stand or sit in front of the camera and within seconds an image appears on the computer. It DOESN'T have PHYSICAL CONTACT with the body and DOESN'T introduce IONIZING RADIATION into the womans breast as is done during Mammographic Imaging (which most people believe can provoke a malignancy to form).

Baseline Readings need to be administered 3 months apart to establish oneself as a Thermogram patient but afterwards on an annual basis any asymmetries or changes over time could indicate the need for clinical correlation to evaluate for possible disease development.


Doctors do not yet know how to prevent breast cancer. However you can increase your chances of detecting breast cancer in its earliest stages by understanding the need for, and participating in an early detection program.


Early Detection Saves Lives

When used with other procedures the best possible evaluation of breast health is made. This 15 minute non invasive test is a valuable procedure for alerting your GP or specialist to the possibility of underlying breast disease. This test is designed to improve chances for detecting fast-growing, active tumors in the intervals between mammographic screenings or when mammography is not indicated by screening guidelines for women under 40 years of age. All patients thermograms (breast images) are kept on record and form a baseline for all future routine evaluations.


Thermographic Exam

These guidelines should be considered along with your background and medical history. Breast cancers tend to grow significantly faster in younger women under 50:


The faster a malignant tumor grows, the more Infrared radiation it generates. For younger women in particular, results from screening can lead to earlier detection and ultimately, longer life. Only about 20 percent of biopsied breast lumps are cancerous. If cancer is found early, there are choices for treatment. With prompt treatment, the outlook is good. In fact, most women treated for early breast cancer will be free from breast cancer for the rest of their lives.

DITI (Digital infrared thermal imaging) has been recognized as a viable diagnostic tool since 1987 by the AMA Council on Scientific Affairs, the ACA Council on Diagnostic Imaging, the Congress of Neurosurgeons in 1988 and in 1990 by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Digital infrared thermal imaging is a completely non-invasive clinical imaging procedure for detecting and monitoring a number of diseases and physical injuries, by showing the thermal abnormalities present in the body. It is used as an aid for diagnosis and prognosis, as well as monitoring therapy progress, within many clinical fields, including:


We can also do whole-body thermography to screen for circulatory and other physiological changes.