Holistic Family Health
Holistic Family Health – Herndon
459A Carlisle Drive
Herndon, VA 20170
703-635-6324
Holistic Family Health – Winchester
153 Creekside Lane
Winchester, VA 22601
703-300-2212
More Cancer Awareness Articles
Every Month Should Be Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Learn How Thermal Imaging Can Improve Early Detection
Everyone wants to detect cancer at the earliest stages, and test are available to help do that. It is possible to detect physiological changes, seen as heat changes and hot spots, to indicate the possibility of early breast cancer. Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) or thermography is a technology that maps thermal changes in the body. These thermal changes could be the early stages of breast cancer.
The inflammation associated with these early changes is the result of increased cellular activity, which gives off heat that can be detected using thermography. To give you an idea of how this works in the early stages, the chart shows how breast cancer grows.
These heat changes can be seen years before a lump, tumor, or growth will appear on a mammogram. Because the test also shows heat changes in cases where there isn't cancer, there are false positives. But, in virtually all cases where there is cancer, thermography shows it.
Because it's hard to definitely show that a positive thermography is actually cancer, thermography is considered to be an adjunct diagnostic tool to be used in conjunction with other tests to reach a diagnosis. Certainly every woman who has a positive thermogram will not develop breast cancer, however, in just about all cases where disease has been diagnosed by other means, it would have been indicated on a thermogram.
So, when there is a positive result with thermography, it is good evidence that the changes need to be watched more carefully and re-evaluated over time to catch developing disease. These results should be reviewed with your doctor for further testing, or just to watch the situation closely.
Since thermography does not produce radiation, there is no breast compression, and there are no dyes to take, the test is comfortable and has no risks.
It can be used for women of any age, even those with dense or sensitive breasts even those with implants. There is no prescription necessary. By establishing a baseline of tissue/vascular patterns, it may help to have an annual comparison year after year to see if there are thermographic changes.
Inflammatory Breast Disease
Inflammatory breast disease cannot be detected by mammography and is most commonly seen in younger women; the prognosis is almost always poor. Early detection provides the best hope of survival. The heat changes shown on a thermogram can be significant indicators several months before clinical signs of inflammatory breast disease, such as skin discoloration, swelling and pain.
Thermography uses an infrared camera to see the infrared heat produced by the body. As a result, it is unique as a tool to identify increased cellular activity, which could be the result of inflammation, physiological changes or metabolic processes that need further evaluation.
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