Thermography
A helpful tool in breast cancer screening.
In treating breast cancer successfully, early detection is key. Breast thermography is an overlooked tool in the quest to detect breast cancer earlier. It is attractive because it is noninvasive, inexpensive, comfortable, and does not compress or irradiate the breasts. Thermography is not, however, intended to replace other breast screening tests. It is considered an adjunctive procedure to mammography, self breast exams, and the physician breast exam.
As a screening tool, thermograms pick up some tumors that mammograms miss. On the flip side, thermograms miss some breast cancers found by mammograms. When used to augment mammograms and exams, thermography raises breast cancer detection rate from 82-85% up to 95-96% sensitivity. That’s a worthwhile improvement!
So, what is thermography exactly? Much like the color weather maps you see on TV, a thermogram measures the infrared heat coming off the skin. This imaging reveals the distinctive heat patterns around tumors. The heat pattern is thought to be from the rapid metabolic rate of the cancer and the increased blood vessels growing to feed the tumor.
Thermography technology was approved by the FDA in 1982 as a supplemental diagnostic screening procedure for cancers of the breast. More than 40 years of extensive research, with multiple large studies following tens of thousands of women, have gone into breast thermography science. Over the last 15 years, the technology and standardized interpretation protocols have advanced rapidly, providing much better results than when it began. Published studies now show thermography to be about 80 percent sensitive and about 80 percent specific in detecting early breast cancers. Though there is no perfect breast test, these figures are impressive and enhance the other techniques for screening.
National guidelines for mammograms were just revised, and they are recommended only every 2 years now, from age 50 to 74. This is good news for women who have concerns about the discomfort and radiation exposure of mammograms. Breast thermography is usually repeated once yearly, after an initial repeat at three months to establish thermal stability. It is also well suited for pre-menopausal women, whose denser breast tissue makes mammography more difficult and less accurate.
Thermography aids in early detection, avoids hazards, offers a lower price tag, and is directly accessible because it can be performed without a physician’s order. Currently, the main drawback is that it is not routinely paid for by insurance companies. However, screening breast thermography is an affordable investment in your health, and in your peace of mind.