Is Thermography Safer Than Mammography?

Media

I entered the office of Three Rivers Thermograph with no expectations…and left with a personal commitment to inform women and those who love them about this safe, accurate and PAINLESS breast cancer screening tool.

Every woman I know who has ever endured a mammogram procrastinates about scheduling her next one. I am no different. In addition to pain avoidance, I have a serious and quite rational disinclination to expose myself to ionizing radiation for the sake of cancer screening, knowing that radiation exposure itself can induce the cancer it is used to detect. However, an article on breast thermography by Joseph Mercola, MD, so impressed me about the safety and the efficacy of this screening modality, that I scheduled one for myself.

As I browsed the bookshelves in the waiting room, I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the books were ones that I myself refer to and recommend to my own patients. Most were about wellness and health promotion, and many covered “complimentary” therapeutic modalities, nutrition, herbs, and taking control of one’s own health. I liked this place already.

Susan came out to greet me and usher me to a changing room where I was instructed to undress to the waist and don a wrap, just like the one I use when getting out of the shower. No forms to fill out, no insurance verification; just “Come on in.” She returned and we moved to the adjoining room where I met Judy and was given a clipboard with a history form to fill out. At this point I was wondering why I hadn’t received this form in the mail or at least the waiting room. Having run three nurse-midwifery practices and two freestanding birth centers, I appreciated the unhurried atmosphere, but questioned the efficiency. But their system has a purpose; the extra time allowed my body temperature to adjust to the room, thereby achieving the most accurate thermography “picture.” I was asked to stand up and adjust the wrap so that my torso was exposed, raise my hands above my head, and face the “camera,” then turn to each side and obliquely. “Thank you, that’s all. Would you like to see your pictures?” That’s all? No one touching, positioning or crushing my breasts in a vise, no table digging into my ribs, no holding my breath or having to dislocate my neck to get my head out of the way? Amazing…no, miraculous!

And it gets even better. Not only is the thermogram completely painless, it can detect the vascular and inflammatory changes associated with breast cancer (and other pathologies) earlier than mammograms can, without the risks of radiation exposure or compression that could lead to a spread of any existing malignant cells. Allow me to explain.

A thermogram is a digital photograph which creates images by detecting infrared radiation (heat) emitted by the body, called Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI). You may have seen infrared techniques used for night vision or special effects in movies like “Terminator” or “Predator.” Breast thermography has undergone extensive research since the late 1950's and was approved by the FDA in 1982 as an adjunctive diagnostic breast cancer screening procedure.

How does DITI differ from other imaging? Other diagnostic modalities such as X-ray (including mammography), C.T., ultrasound and M.R.I. are tests of anatomy. They are used to detect abnormalities in body structures. When a tumor has grown to a size that is large enough and dense enough to block an x-ray beam (mammography) or sound wave (ultrasound), it produces an image that can be detected by a trained radiologist. DITI actually shows changes in physiology (function) and metabolic processes, making it useful for detecting and monitoring the changes that precede the development or existence of cancer.

According to the International Academy of Clinical Thermology, there are over 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography with over 300,000 women as study participants. Many of these have been very large studies with 10,000 to 85,000 participants. Some have followed patients for up to 12 years. These clinical trials have demonstrated that:

• Thermography has an average sensitivity and specificity of 90%. Sensitivity measures how well a test correctly identifies those with the problem, i.e. the percentage of women/men with breast cancer. Specificity measures how well a test correctly identifies those who do not have the problem, i.e. the percentage of healthy women/men who are healthy. Estimates of mammography sensitivity range from 75-90% with specificity from 90-95%.
• An abnormal thermogram is 10 times more significant as a future risk indicator for breast cancer than a first order family history of the disease.
• A persistent abnormal thermogram carries with it a 22x higher risk of future breast cancer.
• An abnormal infrared image is the single most important marker of high risk for developing breast cancer.
• Breast thermography has the ability to detect the first signs that a cancer may be forming up to 10 years before any other procedure can detect it.
• Extensive clinical trials have shown that breast thermography significantly augments the long-term survival rates of its recipients by as much as 61%.
• When used as part of a multi-modal approach (clinical examination + mammography + thermography) 95% of early stage cancers will be detected.

So why, I ask, if breast thermography is so great, isn’t it more widely used? According to Judy and Sue, owners of Three Rivers Thermograph, and the American College of Clinical Thermology, the answer is somewhat political...here is how it plays out. When thermography was first evaluated for breast imaging, it was seen as competitive to mammograms. It was tested to see if it was safer and more accurate than mammography. When younger women were tested, many times thermographic abnormalities were detected, but accompanying mammograms did not identify any tumors, so the results were considered “false positives”. The more younger-age patients screened with the so-called false positive results, the less reliable thermography appeared. However, years later a large percentage of these women developed breast cancer or other breast disease, in exactly the location of the abnormal “false-positive” thermogram, thus validating its early warning role. In retrospect, thermography’s only “error” was that it was too accurate too early and the results couldn’t be corroborated at the time.

In addition, as thermography became more commonly used in other disciplines such as sports medicine, dentistry, podiatry, chiropractic, orthopedics rheumatology, and neurology, it became evident that thermography could clearly and objectively demonstrate the physiologic (or functional) component of pain and injury due to car accidents, job injuries and many other “tort” related law suits, especially to a jury. Everyone involved benefited from these positive test findings….except the defendant insurance industry. The insurance industry in the United States mounted an all-out effort to diminish the value of thermography in courts of law and eventually, lobbying efforts at the AMA’s House of Delegates and at Medicare, resulted in the removal of thermographic coverage by most insurance companies in the United States.

You may now be asking yourself, “Should I replace my mammogram with a thermogram?” Not necessarily. The ultimate choice should be made on an individual basis, considering clinical history, personal circumstances and medical advice. Neither thermography nor mammography can diagnose breast cancer; both are diagnostic tests which reveal different aspects of the disease process. Yearly thermographic evaluations are inexpensive and quick to perform. Non-invasive and non-compressive, DITI can establish a baseline in women as young as 18. If a subsequent breast thermogram is suspicious, appropriate follow-up testing can be ordered, including mammography and other imaging tests, laboratory procedures, nutritional and lifestyle evaluation. With this protocol, cancer can be detected at its earliest and most treatable, perhaps even preventable, point.

In November 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated their recommendations for routine mammography screening for woman aged 40 to 49 years.

The USPSTF recommendations included the following:

• The USPSTF recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take into account patient context, including the patient's values regarding specific benefits and harms.
• The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women between the ages of 50 and 74 years.
• The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older.

For further information:

• International Academy of Clinical Thermology
• American College of Clinical Thermology
• Three Rivers Thermograph

Kathy Evans-Palmisano, RN, CNM, MS, CPT
Ki-Ri : Transforming the Planet, One Person at a Time
www.Ki-Ri.com
PHONE 412-298-2016