Breast Cancer Prevention

No one procedure or method of imaging is solely adequate for breast cancer screening.

FACTS ABOUT BREAST CANCER

• All women are at risk of breast cancer.
• Breast cancer is the leading killer of 35- to 54-year-old women.
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women.
• Breast cancer in women under 50 is more aggressive and virulent.
• 70% of breast cancers occur in women who have no history of the disease in their family.
• Most cancers take 8 to 10 years to grow to 1 cm in size, but only 1.5 years more to grow to 3.5 cm.
• 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. This rate has more than doubled in the past 30 years.

What is thermal Imaging?
Thermal imaging gets its name from the prefix "thermo-," which means heat. By looking at the pattern of heat (infrared) radiating off the surface of the body, doctors can gain information about what is happening underneath the skin. Highly sophisticated cameras map the heat and then send the images to a computer system for storage. The physician can then perform a more detailed examination to measure the exact differences in temperature.

What is the difference between a mammogram and a thermogram?
A mammogram is an x-ray examination of the breast that reveals the differing densities of the anatomical structures beneath the skin. Unfortunately, it exposes the breast tissue to low-level radiation. John W. Gofman, MD, PhD, a renowned authority on the health effects of ionizing radiation, estimates that 75% of breast cancer could be prevented by avoiding or minimizing exposure to the ionizing radiation from mammography, x-rays, and other medical sources. Dr. Gofman strongly believes that there is no safe threshold for exposure to low-level ionizing radiation.
Fortunately, thermograms allow doctors to safely examine the breast's physiology without the need to painfully compress the breast or expose it to harmful radiation. The equipment simply measures the infra-red radiation coming from the body and then creates an image of it for the doctor to examine.

This very high-resolution camera's live-imaging capability allows the physician to position the patient at the ideal angle for that particular woman's breast contour to be examined. The doctor is then able to make a detailed examination of tiny temperature changes that can indicate whether cancer is developing.

Is a thermogram as good as a mammogram?
Philip Hoekstra, PhD, a pioneer in the use of thermography, has screened over 50,000 women since 1971. He claims that in almost all conditions thermography is superior in detecting breast cancer earlier than mammography, especially in premenopausal women. He and many other authorities are convinced that mammography should not be used as an initial screening device; it should be employed only as a last resort, after a diagnosis of breast cancer is made, and the woman feels she needs it confirmed with a surgical biopsy or surgically removed.

Should I stop getting mammograms and only get thermograms?
No. Studies show up to a 61% increase in survival rate when breast thermography and mammography are used together. A thermal image's ability to detect a pre-cancerous state of the breast or signs of cancer at an extremely early stage lies in its unique capability of monitoring the temperature variations produced by the earliest changes in tissue physiology. It does not have the ability to pinpoint the location of a tumor. These tests complement each other. A woman with a documented disease should have both tests. Premenopausal women should combine thermal imaging, the guidance of a physician and self-examinations to minimize their risk. Unlike thermography, mammography is contraindicated for women who are breast feeding.

Should women in child-bearing years have mammograms?
The importance of mammography for women under 50 is a subject of controversy. According to the highly regarded British medical journal, The Lancet, mammography does more harm than good even for women over the age of 40. It is estimated that of the 5% of mammograms that suggest further testing, up to 93% of those are false positives (when follow-up biopsies indicate there is no cancer). For women in this age group the researchers concluded, “The benefit is marginal, the harm caused is substantial, and the costs incurred are enormous, {so} we suggest that public funding for breast cancer screening in any age group is not justifiable.”

Isn't it true that most breast cancers are in older women?
Every woman, 18 or 80, is at risk for breast cancer. In 1950, one in twenty women developed breast cancer, usually at sixty or seventy years of age. Now breast cancer occurs in one of every eight women and involves a greater proportion of young women than ever before. Detecting the disease early increases your survival rate up to 97% and provides you with more options in treatment. Your choice to be responsible for your own health and care for your breasts could be one that saves your life.