Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women and one in eight of us has a chance of developing cancer.
My Sister in Law died of breast cancer as did her mother and sister. I have two nieces that I love dearly so breast health is a vital topic to me.
Recently I was at a gathering of 30 women and the topic of breast cancer came up. I was shocked to find out that only three women in the room had heard of thermography, let alone used it.
Most women still continue to have mammograms and are led by their doctors to believe that a mammogram is the best test for detecting breast cancer early. This is simply not true.
Thermography is a much more effective way of testing and identifying precancerous or cancerous cells earlier. A thermogram not only identifies the cells it does so definitively. Studies have shown that thermography is remarkably accurate and reliable.
What is thermography?
It is a form of infrared or thermal imaging. A thermogram takes an image of the heat of your body. Precancerous and cancerous cells typically have inflammation and radiate heat. Thermography detects the inflammation.
Which is better? A thermogram or a mammogram?
The reason we are told to have mammograms is so that we can detect signs of breast cancer as early as possible.
1. Thermograms detect cancer earlier. A thermogram can detect cancerous activity eight to ten years before a mammogram. It can detect changes at the cellular level, before the tumor is formed. Mammograms can only detect cancer once the tumor is formed.
2. Thermograms are radiation free. Mammograms can expose you to excessive doses of radiation that can increase your risk of cancer. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, mammograms expose women to radiation that’s almost 1,000 times greater than that from a chest x-ray. He also believes that the machine itself may also hasten the growth of malignant cells because of the way it compresses the breast.
3. Thermograms are more accurate. Mammograms often give false positive results, lead to needless treatments and are linked to 20% increase in mastectomies, many of which were unnecessary. According to a key researcher, Dr. Getson, “if a woman has an annual mammogram for ten years, she has a 50% chance of having a breast biopsy.”
Thermograms can also screen out areas that mammograms can’t such as scars, breast implants and fibrocystic tissues and can also detect changes in areas that mammograms aren’t always effective at identifying – such as the armpit area.
4. Thermography doesn’t hurt! The pressure that the mammogram machine puts on each breast when it’s being compressed is equivalent to putting a 50-pound weight on your breast. A thermogram is quick, non-invasive and doesn’t even touch your body.
Needless to say two men invented the mammogram! If a man had his privates mashed down into a machine how quickly do you think a new one that provided a less painful experience would have been invented?
5. Thermography is safe. It’s so safe that even pregnant and nursing women can have one!
6. Thermography is preventative. It can detect cancer in its earliest stages by locating irregular patterns in the breast that occur before a noticeable lump is formed. It doesn’t just screen for breast cancer. It can tell you how healthy your breasts are and can detect any irregularities in your breast health long before mammography can detect cancer. You can then make the diet, beliefs and lifestyle changes that can help prevent breast cancer.
7. Thermograms can also help detect other conditions, including heart disease, arthritis, neck and back pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.
Many women avoid testing all together because of concerns about mammograms. They don’t have thermograms because they are not covered by insurance. Thermograms cost around $200.00. Given the high incidence of cancer, it is a worthwhile investment in your health and peace of mind.
One cautionary note: Make sure to find a center with qualified board-certified physicians who use the best equipment (not all thermographic equipment is the same) and who are trained specifically to interpret the images.