Thermography & Its Uses In Early Disease Detection
by Ruth Galbraith, ND
If you’re a woman over forty, you’ve likely experienced a mammogram. This breast cancer screening tool is recommended annually for women over 40 by the American Cancer Society (ACS), and sooner than that if you have a family history of breast cancer. But did you know that there’s another way to detect breast cancer, possibly much earlier than what is detected by a mammogram, and without squishing your breasts into pancakes? In fact, this is a non-contact imaging technique that doesn’t require you to physically be touched by any machine, and there is no x-ray involved.
To understand the use of this alternative imaging technique to detect breast cancer, you must first understand a little about the physiology of cancer. Tumors are composed of cells that are growing out of control. They have lost the normal signaling mechanism that directs cells to stop multiplying when they grow big enough to touch each other. Therefore, they continue to grow and multiply out of control, and a tumor is created. This tumor requires a great deal of nutrition as it continues to grow without inhibition, and cancer cells have also been found to have another unique characteristic: they can induce the formation of blood vessels, which feed them.
As you can imagine, all this creation of new blood vessels means there is more blood in the area of a tumor than would normally be expected in healthy tissue. This is where thermography becomes useful in detecting cancers.
Thermography, also known as Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI), uses a special camera that detects infrared energy (heat), which is produced by every living thing (and in fact by every object above “absolute zero,” or negative 273 degrees Celsius). The camera detects heat output from the human body, converts this to a thermal image on a computer monitor, and then very precise temperature calculations can be made. Thermography can detect areas of increased or decreased blood flow, which are not always pathological but can be an early indication of cancer or other disease processes that begin with inflammation.
As with a mammogram, the best use of thermography for breast cancer screening is to take what’s called a baseline image, so that your doctor can have on file an image of your breasts as they ‘normally’ are. Any images taken after this can be very precisely compared to the baseline image, down to the pixel, to determine if there has been an increase in inflammation, heat, or blood flow to a particular area, possibly indicating cause for concern and further imaging. In this way, thermography can help to detect cancers that are too small to be felt or detected by other imaging procedures.
Thermography is an excellent early screening tool, looking for changes 5-10 years earlier than other screening techniques. Therefore, women who are concerned may consider beginning screening 5-10 years earlier than the ACS recommendations. In addition, women can be screened who have had single or complete mastectomy or who have breast implants. Thermography works well for women with dense breasts, which may limit the sensitivity of mammography, and many women are grateful for this extra screening tool if they have a positive family history of breast cancer but it is not enough to warrant an MRI.
Thermography is not a replacement for mammography but is an additional screening tool. Study has shown that the use of Clinical Breast Exam (CBE), mammography and thermography together can increase sensitivity to 98%, which is much better than any technique on its own.
In addition to its use in breast cancer screening, thermography is useful to detect or follow the treatment progress of other disease processes that begin with inflammation or involve blood vessels, such as various forms of arthritis, atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries which can lead to heart disease and strokes, deep vein thrombosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetic and other neuropathies, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), and other diseases in which there is an increase or decrease from the normal flow of blood to any area of the skin.
If you would like more information about thermography for early detection of inflammation or cancer, contact Huber Natural Health. We will be conducting thermographic screenings quarterly. An appointment is necessary and spots fill quickly.
Huber Natural Health, LLCby Ruth Galbraith, ND
289 Main Street
Salem, NH 03079
Phone (603) 890-9900