Thermography - A Mammogram Alternative

Cancer awareness is very critical these days and knowing how to prevent and early detect cancer is a key to maintaining your well being. Mammograms have been the mainstream for detecting any signs of breast cancer. However, there is an additional option that is “radiation free” that is worth exploring called “Thermography”.  As with all health decisions, please consult your medical doctor or homeopathic doctor for what option is best for you.  Being informed about your health and the various ways to stay healthy will serve you the best in the long run.
 
Thermography is a suggested screening tool for breast health. It can be used as an alternative to, or in addition to, mammography. Thermography is very safe—it’s even safe for pregnant and nursing women! It’s merely an image of the heat of your body. With thermography, there is no radiation exposure. Thermography is not invasive and requires no physical contact with the technician.  You are positioned in front of a Thermal Imaging Camera and digital pictures are taken. The procedure lasts from 5 to 15 minutes. The results are analyzed for heat patterns and available to you within a couple of days. Dr. Christiane  Northrup, author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, is a well-known advocate for thermography as an accurate and reliable method of breast screening.
 
The website http://www.thermologyonline.org/ is a great source of information for understanding how thermography works.  Thermography measures body temperature to detect inflammation and has been shown to pick up abnormalities in the breast many years before a lesion would likely show up in a mammogram. Tumors generally have an increase in blood supply which translates into increased heat in the surrounding tissues. Inflammation is often present in precancerous and cancerous cells and can be detected by the infrared hotspots during thermography. It is especially useful in detection of breast abnormality and may be more effective than mammography in early detection of cancer cells.
 
Some experts believe that thermographs have the ability to detect the chemical and blood vessel changes in pre-cancerous as well as cancerous breast tissue 8 to 10 years before it can be detected by other methods. With thermography as a screening tool, breast cell anomalies can be detected long before mammography can detect cancer, allowing you to implement lifestyle changes that can improve the health of your breasts proactively instead of waiting for a cancer diagnosis later. The chart below shows the growth rate of cancer cells and when anomalies are detected by both thermography and mammography.

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Thermography is a particularly good choice for young women. It doesn’t identify fibrocystic tissue, breast implants, or scars as needing further investigation. It’s also good at detecting changes in the cells in the arm pit, an area that mammography isn’t always good at screening. Instead of just screening for breast cancer, a thermogram can tell you how healthy your breasts are, avoiding unnecessary biopsies, lumpectomies, mastectomies, chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and so forth.

Thermography was approved by the FDA in 1982. There are over 800 peer-reviewed studies on themography showing 97% accuracy in early detection of breast cancer. More information can be found at: thermologyonline.org and preventbc.com.

Locally, Dr. Keith Berndtson MD of Park Ridge Multimed is hosting a thermographic screening day on Thursday January 30th, 2014.

Park Ridge Multimed
15 N. Prospect Ave.
Park Ridge

Call for an appointment
(847) 232-9800

*Be sure to discuss the option of thermographic screenings with your physician.