Thermography

Thermography for Breast Cancer: Early Detection Saves Lives

While we wait for that magic cancer cure… articles in mainstream and integrative medicine usually blame breast
cancer upon one or more of these: genetics, virus, toxins, lowered immunity from sugar or stress, aluminum in anti-perspirants, EMF waves, lack of melatonin or iodine, excess antibiotics, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT),
and/or a clogged lymphatic system.

The majority of breast cancer deaths could be prevented with an FDA-approved machine: D.I.T.I. -- Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging. The process is Thermography! Thermograms have detected developing tumors 10 years in advance
of when they would be picked up in a mammogram or clinical breast exam, according to the International Academy of Clinical Thermography. This page at their website has a list of offices where Thermography is available in the US: www.iact-org.org/links.html (In the greater Chattanooga area where I live, the only machine is at Stillpoint Health Associates, call 423-756-2443).

In a four-year clinical trial published in 2003, researchers used thermography on 769 possible breast cancer patients with a 97% accuracy rate. Compare this to the high rate of inaccuracy for mammograms, both positive and negative: mammograms sound the alarm for cancer in up to 10% of women who don't really have it, and it doesn't find it in approximately 17% of women who actually do have cancer.

A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast, so women are exposed to radiation when having one. He added that 10 mammograms in 10 years increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer by 10%. (ie 1% per year).

Thermography is safe, non-invasive, pain-free, has a high level of accuracy, and emits no radiation. It works on the basis that most objects, including human skin, emit a certain amount of infrared light in proportion to their temperature. That's important because abnormal tissue growth can raise the temperature of the area of the breast it inhabits, and show up as a hot spot in a thermogram.

The history of thermography includes excitement by doctors in the 1960’s when infrared imaging was introduced. At that time, the method caught almost all breast cancers very early, however it also had a high number of false positives. According to Dr. Len Saputo, M.D. in an article titled, “Beyond Mammography,” this resulted in many women having breast surgeries that did not have breast cancer. So although a method existed that caught almost all breast cancers early enough to save many or most lives, eventually unneeded surgeries led to the rejection of infrared breast imaging in the United States.

Saputo says, “Since the 1970’s, however, clinical research has continued, especially in Canada and France where this technology is considered more mainstream. More than 800 research papers have been published on the subject of breast thermography, and a research databank on more than 300,000 women who have been tested with infrared breast imaging now exists.”

New advances in infrared imaging technology have led to a much more accurate temperature differential (sensitivity to .05 degrees centigrade) which makes identifying breast cancer much easier and more reliable, and Saputo says, “the combination of improved technology and scientific clinical research is sparking the return of breast thermography into clinical practice today.”

Today, 1 in 7 American women will get breast cancer and 1 in 5 of those (usually those where the cancer is invasive and has spread due to late detection) will die. Doctors don’t yet know how to prevent breast cancer, however women could very greatly increase their chances of survival through this non-invasive, non-radiation, very accurate, extremely early, non-painful detection device: THERMOGRAPHY!!!

Call your doctor. Call your insurance company. Thermography might just save your life!

ADDITIONAL INFO:

A new survey recently released by the Institute of Medicine reports an 8% DECREASE (800 closed) in mammogram facilities in the U.S. over the last 4 years.

According to the June 10^th report, the U.S. is rapidly losing its capacity to screen women for breast cancer with mammography. (Doctors are shying away from the procedure due to low payment rates from Medicare, and skyrocketing malpractice).

Women across the U.S. wait months to get screening mammograms because facilities are overstretched. This could lead to a crisis as approx. 200,000 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year and approximately 40,000 women die.

On average, tumors develop 10-15+ yrs before detection with mammography.

A recent study of 663 cancerous women published in the Archives of Surgery reveals that those subjects whose cancerous breast tumors were needle biopsied - in other words, intentionally ruptured for diagnostic purposes - were 50% more likely to subsequently develop cancer of the lymphatic nodes located under the armpit than women whose tumors were removed outright.

Some doctors believe extreme compression of the breast (mammograms) might cause cancerous growths to release malignant cells into nearby tissues that might otherwise have remained contained in a tumor until detection and treatment could occur.

Tumors emit more heat than surrounding tissue and are usually easily detected by heat-sensing infrared scanners. Cancerous tissues stay hot or become hotter. Fibrocystic breasts, infections, and other benign disorders cool down as they resolve.

Breast thermograms have highly specific thermal patterns in each woman. They provide a unique “thermal signature” that remains constant over years – making it possible to more accurately detect cancers over time. Thermograms are graded 1-5. Th1 and Th2 are normal. Th3 is moderately abnormal. Th4 and Th5 are severely abnormal and require careful followup. One recent study documents women with Th1 and Th2 scores can be reassured with a 99% level of confidence that they do not have breast cancer.

It is FDA-approved, has an FDA insurance code, and many insurance companies do pay for you to access this technology.

Note: I believe almost all Breast Cancer deaths could be prevented if this method of early detection were in every doctor's office. And I don't benefit financially from the promotion of thermography in any way.

Email me for more info:
TamiFreedman@aol.com

Call your doctor and ask him or her about Thermography. Many groups like Positively Pink (Breast Cancer support group) are excited about Thermography. Breast tumors develop 15+ years before detection by mammography. Breast cancer deaths happen when the tumor has become invasive and spread. Thermography catches tumors when they are small and long before they've spread. Thermography would SAVE LIVES if put into regular medical use! Get the positive word out! Create demand for this life-saving medical service - the life you save could be yours!