AnitaVDB/Bigstock.com
Breast Thermography Redefining Early Detection by April Beaman
D
uring the month of October, pink ribbons and an assortment of pink clothing and paraphernalia have a singular meaning to most women over age 40: schedule an annual mammogram. For all women, breast health is important, as every woman living today has a one in eight chance of developing invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. This makes screening for breast abnormalities especially important. Current methods used to detect breast cancer depend primarily on a combination of physical examination and mammography. While this approach has become the mainstay of early breast cancer detection, mammography is not the only method of detecting breast abnormalities. Since the prevention of breast cancer has not yet become a reality, every effort must be directed at detecting breast cancer at its earliest stage. When breast abnormalities are detected early, the survivability rate is up to 100%. Since most tumors take years to grow, the earliest indication of an abnormality is needed to allow for the earliest possible intervention with the least invasive treatments.
What Is the Current Definition of Early Detection? According to traditional screening methods such as mammography, early detection is the discovery of a tumor large enough to be detected by an x-ray. Studies have shown that by the time a tumor reaches this size, it has in fact been 18
New Haven/Middlesex
NaturalNewHaven.com
growing for years. Is this early enough detection?
Identifying Reversible Risks
Imagine a screening tool that could detect the changes that occur in the breasts before a tumor is seen or felt in its place? Is there a way to see physiological changes BEFORE an actual tumor forms? Breast thermography is a screening tool that can detect abnormalities that may lead to cancer. It can also aid in the detection of future risk factors years before they may be found by other screening methods. Consider that if breast changes and risk factors were found early, they could be reversed by making dietary changes, removing toxins and naturally balancing hormones.
A 50-year History and FDA Clearance
Breast thermography has been around for more than 50 years. It is a non-invasive, radiation and compression-free imaging procedure that has been FDA-cleared since 1982 as an adjunct screening method for breast cancer. A medical infrared camera and a sophisticated computer are utilized to convert infrared heat emitting from the surface of the skin into electrical impulses that are visualized in color. The spectrum of colors indicates an increase or decrease in the amount of infrared heat or temperature variations, also known as “hot or cold spots� on a thermogram (thermal images). These temperature variations may be among the earliest
