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Thermography for Breast Cancer Screening

By Ann Aresco, ND

Prevention, prevention, prevention is the chant of everyone who has anything to do with medicine today. It couldn’t be more logical than that, but it isn’t always as easy as it sounds. There are many ways for patients to be preventative, most of which they have to figure out on their own. Thermography is one of the ways to supplement breast cancer prevention efforts. I say “supplement,” because thermography is a screening test. Tests don’t actually prevent anything; tests determine whether you have reaped the rewards of a preventative lifestyle or not.

Alternative to Mammogram?

Thermography

This screening technology fits right into the naturopathic doctrine of “do no harm.” Thermography is 100% safe, completely non-invasive, has no radiation and does not touch the breast. Thermography is a scan that detects levels of temperature, in this case, in the breast tissue. These levels of temperature can show if there is something irregular going on. In the case of breast scanning, one scan is done for a baseline and then the following scans are done to determine if the temperature pattern has changed from the previous test or base line. Any irregularities can indicate the need for further testing and possible intervention. If there is an irregularity found, the thermography will target exactly where other tests and steps need to be focused.

The US Department of Health and Human Services released new recommendations for screening mammography in 2009. The Department previously recommended that women begin having annual mammograms between 35 and 40 years of age. The new recommendations for mammography screening suggest tests begin when a woman is 50 years old and be done once every 2 years (or annually for patients with higher risk factors). Many doctors and patients were alarmed with this new recommendation. They shouldn’t be. First we have to define “screening.” Screening is for those women who don’t have any known risk of breast cancer. These women do not need to be Left breast cancer – www.nemedtherm.com exposed to radiation starting at a young age and year after year to screen for breast cancer. The women that need yearly mammograms are those with the risks of getting breast cancer. Thermography should not be considered an alternative to mammograms. But it is certainly an option that can be utilized in addition to the mammogram and as an alternative for those years in between mammograms for patients who want to have an annual screening but not be exposed to more radiation. Additionally, I would highly recommend any women who are not doing any mammography for whatever reason should use thermography for breast cancer screening. Breast thermography will provide an early

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