Advances in Breast Screening
It’s been said that Hippocrates would spread a mud slurry over the body of a sick patient and the area where the mud dried first was suspect for underlying disease. He understood that illness often produces heat and locating that heat was the key to finding the ailment.
Fast forward hundreds of years to Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (aka Thermography). Thermography is a non-invasive, screening tool that is highly sensitive to subtle differences in skin surface temperature. Everything gives off some infrared energy or heat. An infrared camera senses this energy and converts it into an image, called a thermogram, that looks like a colored topographical map. Since there is a high degree of thermal symmetry in a healthy body, subtle abnormal temperature differences can be easily detected with thermography.
Unlike most screening modalities, thermography is non-invasive. It uses no radiation, injections or compression to achieve its images. It is a sensitive and reliable means of graphically mapping and displaying skin surface temperature. Thermography can be used to help diagnose, evaluate, monitor and document a large number of injuries and conditions such as: back injuries, arthritis, fibromyalgia, vascular disease and digestive disorders to name a few.
Thermography and Breast Screening
According to the American Cancer Society, the leading cause of death in women ages 40-44 is breast cancer. Given that it takes approximately 15 years for breast cancer to develop and lead to death, safe and accurate screening, beginning in one’s mid-20’s, should help reduce the death rate in that age group. The benefit of thermography in breast screening is that it offers the opportunity of earlier detection of breast disease than has been possible through breast self examination, doctor examination or mammography alone.
Thermography detects the subtle physiologic changes that accompany breast pathology, whether it is cancer, fibrocystic disease, an infection or a vascular disease. The protocol for breast screening includes five images: one from the front, one from each side (arms raised to include armpits and lymph area), and one from each oblique angle. The procedure is quick and painless, comparable to being photographed. Initially, two screenings 3 months apart generally establish a thermal baseline. After that, an annual screening is sufficient.
Thermography Can Help Women and Men
All women can benefit from thermography. Younger women can start screening safely in their 20’s and 30’s; older women, who still have dense breast tissue will find this means effective; and women who have already had a mastectomy can safely and accurately continue to monitor the affected region. Some women have serious concerns about the cumulative effects of radiation and want to limit their exposure. Thermography allows them to monitor their breast health without the risk of additional radiation exposure.
Although breast cancer in men still account for a small percentage of breast cancers detected, their numbers are increasing. Thermography gives men a chance to screen for this disease and potentially catch it at an early stage.
Thermography and Inflammatory Breast Cancer
News of inflammatory breast cancer has made the rounds on the internet and e-mails due to numerous reports done by KOMO TV in Seattle. Inflammatory breast cancer is particularly difficult to diagnose by traditional means because it produces no tumors, rendering conventional screening methods less effective. By the time it is diagnosed, it has often progressed to a late stage. Given the inflammatory nature of the disease, thermography is an ideal means of screening for this silent killer.
Thermography vs. Mammograms
Thermography is not meant to replace mammograms. It is used in conjunction with mammograms and clinical breast exams to give the patient the opportunity to make decisions with as much information as possible.
One study published in the American Journal of Radiology in 2003 demonstrated that thermography had a 97% sensitivity in distinguishing benign from malignant growths. The conclusion stated: “Infrared imaging offers a safe, non-invasive procedure that would be valuable as an adjunct to mammography in determining whether a lesion is benign or malignant”.
We can accomplish with thermography what Hippocrates practiced hundreds of years ago…minus the mud.
Ingrid LeVasseur, BA, is a certified clinical thermographer who received her training at Duke University. She has been a teacher of meditation for 23 years and spent four years teaching under the medical direction of Dr. Deepak Chopra. As the owner of Inner Image Clinical Thermography in Falmouth, Ingrid offers thermography to hundreds of women in southern Maine. She can be reached at 207-781-6060 or through her web site at: www.MyInnerImage.com
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