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Did you know that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives and the key to survival is the earliest possible detection. With
Digital Infra Red Thermal Imaging (Thermography), now even for young women, there is a safe way to screen. Amazing technology now exists that can detect breast breast cancer up to 10 years earlier than what can be seen by a mammogram allowing many women the chance to change their outcomes & quality of life. Earlier detection & prevention is our best defence against breast cancer.
With DITI, there is no contact with the body, and no radiation exposure. It is - painless - safe, F.D.A. & TGA approved. Used throughout the
U.S.A. for the earliest detection and prevention of breast cancer. This latest technology state of the art equipment is now availble to women in Australia.
THERMO-MED AUSTRALIA uses the latest high tech Medical Thermography Cameras from the US that converts infrared radiation emitted from the skin surface into electrical impulses that are visualized in colour, and then highly developed software produces an image of the body on the screen. The spectrum of colours and patterns indicate an increase or decrease in the amount of these emissions and are indicative of physiological changes taking place in the body.
Your images are sent to the U.S. electronically for interpretation by a panel of qualified, board certified doctors from The American Academy of Clinical Thermography, at Duke University, and an extensive report, and copies of the images with recommendations will be provided.
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Why would I want to use Thermography for breast screening?
Many women are concerned about their breast health long before the age where conventional
screening is available to them and would like to know if  they are at risk from developing breast cancer. Also younger women's denser breast tissue makes cancer detection with mammography very difficult.
Thermography can see the blood supply that feeds a tumor in its infancy, before it begins to grow, and gives very early warning signs that a woman is at risk of developing pathology. The only way to detect it in this stage is to establish a thermographic baseline and monitor every year for the real early signs of disease.
On the right is a hypothetical chart, representative of an average growth pattern of the typical slow growing breast tumor. Most doctors agree and even tell their breast cancer patients that they have had the growth for 8 or 10 years so in some women this may begin in the 20's & 30's
Mammograms are a good tool for determining the exact location of a developed tumor, but it is not an early warning system, which some women assume that it is. "Early" is a relative term, so if a mammogram can see it in the 8th year, it is earlier than the 10th year, but in any case, even the 7th year may be too late to change the outcome.
The real danger of breast cancer is whether or not it has spread to a vital organ. If it is going to spread, it has had many years to do so. We deserve earlier detection, and this is it.
Thermography can totally change a person's health history in advance and give a woman time to makes changes that may reverse this process.
The thermal map of a woman's breast is as individual as her fingerprint and will only change in response to developing pathology.
For three decades, over 300,000 women have been studied at Duke University in the US and over 800 peer reviewed studies exist in the index-medicus literature, some of these women have been studied for up to 12 years.Confirmed results of multi-year studies show that:
- Thermography for breast abnormalities has an average sensitivity and specificity of 90 percent.
- An abnormal digital thermogram is the single most important marker of high risk for developing future breast cancer, 10 times more significant than a family history of the disease.
- A consistently abnormal thermogram translates to a 22 times higher risk of developing breast cancer.
- An over 60 percent increased survival rate is attained when thermography is used with other breast health monitoring methods (self-exam, physician visits, ultrasound and mammography).
- An astounding 97 percent of all early stage breast cancers are diagnosed when thermography is used in a multi-modal approach to detection and treatment.
Most women do not realise that they do not need to have a lump to have breast cancer.
Thermography can also detect inflammatory breast cancer, a type of cancer that does not develop as lumps or masses in your breast and cannot be detected by mammography. IBC is an aggressive form of the disease that blocks lymph vessels in the skin of your breast. (see large photo top of page) This type of cancer grows rapidly in flat chains and often spreads to other organs in the body.
There are also many cancers that go undetected by conventional screening, as they lie outside the areas that are able to be imaged, such as areas above the breasts, lymph nodes, the sides, under the arms, underneath side of the breast and chest wall etc. Thermography is able to see the breasts & surrounds from all angles and gives a much greater coverage for screening.
Thermograms can be especially useful for younger women, since 23 percent of all breast cancers occur in women under the age of 50. Breast cancer in younger women is more aggressive and has lower survival rates, so an annual thermogram – starting with a baseline scan at around age 20 – coupled with regular self-exams, breast health checks and diagnostic ultrasounds is a very smart way to go. Should any suspicious activity present then an MRI /mammogram should be performed to guide the surgeon to the exact location, size and appearance of the tumor to give the greatest chance of achieving clear margins with a surgical biopsy.
In addition to breast cancer, thermal imaging can detect other breast abnormalities like fibrocystic breast disease and mastitis and can even show that a woman is pregnant.
A Thermogram is not a replacement for a mammogram
This would be comparing apples to oranges. Mammograms look at structure (size, density, position, depth of an existing tumor) and Thermograms looks at physiological function or the bodies reaction to developing pathology at a very early stage. Neither modality can identify cancer of the breast. Both can only identify breast abnormality that has patterns which are consistent with cancer. The diagnosis of breast cancer is only done by biopsy. When both modallities are utilised the best possible outcomes can be achieved. |
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| Establishing a thermal baseline |
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This patient was 37 when her first baseline thermogram showed suspicious activity in the upper right breast. The follow-up 3 months later shows the pattern had become more well defined. A third thermogram shows significant changes. Mammography was performed at this stage; the mammographic findings were inconclusive. (still not large enough to be detected.)
The fifth comparative thermogram at 12 months shows the temperature & asymmetry has increased. A repeat mammogram was performed which clearly showed a small 1mm tumor. Within one week a lumpectomy had been performed with good margins and the pathology confirmed (DCIS) STAGE 1 BREAST CANCER. The patient was able to avoid chemo and radiation and is expected to remain healthy.
This is real early detection but there are many strategies a woman can also put in place with diet, supplements and detoxification and hormonal balance, in which this process may begin to decrease and resolve itself completely without intervention. With thermography we can see if these interventions are working and having the desired effect.
The reason a three-month interval is used relates to the period of time it takes for blood vessels to show change, a period of time less than three months may miss significant change, a period of time much more than three months can miss significant change that may have already taken place
All women can benefit from DITI breast screening. However, it is especially invaluable for younger women (30-50) whose denser breast tissue makes it difficult for mammography to be effective. Women with breast implants and women of all ages that for many reasons are unable to undergo routine mammography. This procedure is invaluable for anyone wanting to lesson exposure to radiation, that has had breast cancer, mastectomies and undergone previous chemo and/or radiation treatments. Also suitable for pregnant women that should not be exposed to radiation, painfull fibrocystic breasts and mastitis.
800,000 biopsies are performed in the US every year as a result of routine mammographic screening - out of these 180,000 are malignant and the rest are benign lumps. Thermography can help distinguish between benign fibrocyctic breast disease and malignant tumors. Benign fibroadenomas are also mistaken for cancer but can be better identified by thermography because they do not produce heat the way a malignant tumor does thus a lot of uneccessary biopsies can be avoided.
DITI'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 Ultrasound / MRI / Mammography the best possible evaluation of breast health is made.
Statistically thermography and mammography have a similar degree of accuracy for the detection of all breast cancer. When thermography is combined with ultrasound or mammography, the statistics are a dramatic 97% detection. Ultrasound alone picks up everything benign and malignant alike making an accurate prediction of cancer difficult. Thermography will help to guide the ultrasound / mammograms to the correct area of concern.
In addition to breast screening, full body scans or regions of interest (ie shoulder, knee, ankle, back, jaw) can be taken for detecting and monitoring a number of diseases and physical injuries by showing thermal abnormalities present in the body. It is also useful in detection of cancer metastasis elsewhere in the body. Using thermography that emits no radiation and is non invasive is safe way to monitor any subtle changes in your health, at a stage where early intervention may prevent many diseases from taking hold. This wil give you the opportunity to change the outcome when given an earlier warning signal that something is not quite right. (see full body scan section). This is true preventative medicine, as thermography is the only method of evaluating inflammation in the body, the precursor of most diseased states including conditions such as arthritis and cancer.
Katharyn Habgood Director of Thermo-Med Australia is a Board Certified Clinical Thermographer from the American Academy of Clinical Thermography at Duke University who is committed to the fight against breast cancer and the continual improvement of womens health. Katharyn's interests in biochemistry and personal experience with breast cancer has led her to engage in 15 years of extensive research and has a great deal of invaluable knowledge to share with women on the subject of Breast Cancer, Menopause, Hormonal Health, Nutrition, Ant-aging, Wellness, and the prevention of many of the degenerate diseases that will not be found elsewhere. Katharyn is available to support women through this very distressing time and a consultation may be requested when you book your thermography screening. Preventative measures will also be discussed for women concerned about their breast health.
The Current Early Detection Guidelines
One day there may be a single method for the early detection of breast cancer. Until then, using a combination of methods will increase your chances of detecting cancer in an early stage.
These methods include:
• Annual Thermogram screening for women of all ages, especially those under 50.
• Mammography, when considered appropriate for women who are aged 50 or older.
• A regular breast examination by a health professional.
• Personal awareness for changes in the breasts.
• Readiness to discuss quickly any such changes with a doctor.
http://66.241.252.6/thermography.html
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