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Thermography is an adjunctive state-of-the art Medical Diagnostic Infrared Thermal Imaging which can detect physiological abnormalities by measuring temperature changes. An infrared scanning device is used to convert infrared signal emitted from the skin surface into electrical impulses that are seen in color on a monitor. This visual image graphically maps the body temperature and is referred to as a thermogram.
Medical Thermography’s major clinical value is in its high sensitivity to pathology in the vascular, muscular, neural and skeletal systems and as such can contribute to the pathogenesis and diagnosis made by the clinician. It is a life saving procedure that can alert patients and their doctors to physiological changes in the body that may indicate early stages of a cancerous condition that may be developing in the body. Thermography offers the opportunity of earlier detection of a cancerous condition that is not possible through self examination, doctor examination, or standard medical test alone and without pain or radiation.
By performing Thermography years before conventional mammography, a selected patient population at risk can be monitored more carefully, and then by accurately utilize ultrasound as soon as is possible to detect the actual lesion – (once it has grown large enough and dense enough to be seen), can increase the patients treatment options and ultimately improve the outcome. It is in this role that Thermography provides it’s most practical benefit to the general public and to the medical profession. It is an adjunct to the appropriate usage of other diagnostic medical tests and not a competitor.
Thermography is a completely non-invasive, without radiation, painless clinical imaging procedure for detecting and monitoring a number of diseases and physical injuries by showing thermal abnormalities present in the body. It is used as an aid for diagnosis and prognosis, as well as monitoring therapy progress, for conditions and injuries, including:
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Back Injuries Arthritis Headache Nerve Damage Unexplained Pain Fibromyalgia RSD (CRPS) Dental and TMJ Artery Inflammation Vascular Disease |
Breast Disease Breast Cancer Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Disc Disease Inflammatory Pain Skin Cancer Referred Pain Syndrome Sprain / Strain Stroke Screening Digestive Disorders |
Thermography for Breast Cancer Prevention
Early Detection Saves Lives!
Current research has determined that the key to breast cancer survival rests upon its earliest possible detection. If it’s discovered in its earliest stages, 95% cure rates are possible.
Breast self-examination involves checking the breasts to help detect breast problems or changes. Many breast problems are first discovered by women themselves, often by accident. Breast self-examination involves checking the breasts for lumps or changes while standing and lying in different positions and while looking at the breasts in a mirror to note any changes in their appearance. Once a woman knows what her breasts normally look and feel like, any new lump or change in appearance should be evaluated by a doctor. Breast lumps can be noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant).
In its early stages, breast cancer usually has no symptoms. As a tumor develops, you may note the following signs:
- A lump in the breast or underarm that persists after the menstrual cycle. This is often the first apparent symptom of breast cancer. Lumps associated with breast cancer are usually painless, although some may cause a noticeable sensation. Lumps are usually visible on a diagnostic medical ultrasound long before they can be visually seen or felt.
- Swelling in the armpit.
- Redness, pain or tenderness in the breast. Although lumps are usually painless,
pain or tenderness can be a sign of breast cancer.
- A noticeable flattening or indentation on the breast, which may indicate a tumor
that cannot be seen or felt.
- Any change in the size, contour, texture, or temperature of the breast. A reddish,
pitted surface like the skin of an orange could be a sign of advanced breast cancer.
- A change in the nipple, such as a nipple retraction, dimpling, itching, a burning sensation, or ulceration.
- Unusual discharge from the nipple that may be clear, bloody or another color. It’s usually caused by benign conditions but could be due to cancer in some cases.
- A marble-like area under the skin.
- An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.
If breast symptoms and/or the results of your physical exam suggest breast cancer might be present, more tests will probably be done. These might include different imaging tests. The safest, painless, non-invasive, affordable breast screening tests are a combination of a Medical Diagnostic Ultrasound and Thermography, which may give us about 95% accuracy in detecting breast cancer.
The science of breast Thermography has opened the door to the earliest screening for abnormalities in breast tissue that Western medicine has ever known. Thermography’s role in breast cancer and other breast disorders is to help in early detection and monitoring of abnormal physiology and the establishment of risk factors for the development or existence of cancer. When used with other procedures like medical diagnostic ultrasound, the best possible evaluation of breast health is made.
Breast Thermography is a physiological, non-invasive screening procedure that detects and records infrared heat emissions from the breast, which can aid in the early detection of abnormal changes in breast tissue.
Breast Thermography offers women information that no other procedure can provide. The procedure is based on the principle that chemical and blood vessel activity in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast cancer is almost always higher than in the normal breast.
Since pre-cancerous and cancerous masses are highly metabolic tissues, they need an abundant supply of nutrients to maintain their growth. The cells release substances that stimulate the formation of new blood vessels (neoangiogenesis). This process results in an increase in surface temperatures of the breast.
The most promising aspect of medical diagnostic Thermography is its ability to spot abnormalities years before the tumor is seen on any anatomical test. Since thermal imaging detects changes at the cellular level, this test can detect activity 8 to 10 years before any other anatomical test. This makes it unique in that it affords us the opportunity to view changes before the actual formation of the tumor.
Studies have shown that by the time a tumor has grown to sufficient size to be detectable by physical examination or mammography, it has in fact been growing for about seven
years achieving more than 25 doublings of the malignant cell colony. At 90 days there are two cells, at one year there are 16 cells, and at five years there are 1,048,576 cells–an amount that is still undetectable by a mammogram. Thermography has the ability to provide women with future risk assessment. If discovered, certain thermographic risk markers can warn a woman that she needs to work closely with her doctor with regular checkups to monitor her breast health.
If Breast Thermography (test of physiology) combined with Breast Ultrasound (test of anatomy) can help to discover abnormality and also breast cancer in its earliest stage. These safe diagnostic tests can be done on early bases for a regular check up, or more often if the problem was detected, to monitor a treatment progress.
Please remember — early detection, which includes self examination and safe, painless, non-invasive medical diagnostic Ultrasound and Thermography screenings with NO radiation Saves Lives!
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pHorever Young Blog 