Breast Health Screening
consist of 7 images that include both breasts, underarms, lymphatic regions and upper back. This is 20-40 minutes appointment.
Breast thermography is a painless, radiation-free screening of vascular physiology (or function). Meaning that it looks for abnormal blood flow, inflammation, and functional changes, which can often be the first sign of early stage disease. This proactive screening tool can detect the subtle physiologic changes that accompany breast disease, whether it is developing abnormalities, lymph congestion, inflammatory breast disease, dense or fibrocystic breast tissue, or vascular disease. Thermography offers a chance to notice abnormal changes and early warning signs years before other screening methods.
We use this clinical test as part of an early detection program that gives women of all ages the opportunity to increase their chances of detecting breast disease at the earliest stage. When used in conjunction with breast self-exams, physician exams, mammography, or ultrasound, the best possible evaluation of breast health is made. (American College of Clinical Thermology)
Normal Breast
Hormonal Changes
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Fibrocystic Breast
Early detection matters
Preceding early-stage disease, thermography most often shows changes in temperature, abnormal blood flow, inflammation, and vascular activity within the breast tissue. Thermography captures and records temperature variations on the skin, which offers critical information directly influenced by complex metabolic and vascular activity.
The cells of your body produce heat through their normal function. Abnormal dysfunctional cells typically generate more heat (or increased circulation) during the early development of disease. Tissue temperature change is one of the first things that occurs in the disease process. Thermography detects even the most subtle temperature changes with a camera specifically designed for medical use and records 80,000 temperatures with each image.
Breast thermography screens for
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Lymphatic congestion
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Chronic inflammation
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Hormonal imbalances
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Fibrocystic activity
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Inflammatory breast disease
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Abnormal blood flow
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Angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels)
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Subtle vascular changes, suggesting the presence of disease
Benefits of breast thermography
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Determining future risk markers
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Thermograms are interpreted by MDs
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Early detection of abnormalities and health concerns
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No radiation, no breast compression, painless, 100% safe
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Accurate regardless of breast size
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Safely images breasts with implants
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Entire chest is imaged, including underarms
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Especially useful for women under 50 who tend to have denser breast tissue or those who have undergone breast surgeries
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Your thermographer is trained under the guidance and support of the American College of Clinical Thermology
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FDA registered, medical device, for adjunctive breast screening to be used with standard imaging procedures (mammograms, clinical examination, or ultrasound)
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-American College of Clinical Thermology
Mammograms and thermograms are two completely different tests providing different information. While mammograms, ultrasounds, and X-rays show us structure of the body, they miss such things as active inflammation and increased blood supply found in many diseases. Mammograms are useful for detecting masses, established tumors, and calcifications. A thermogram notes vascular and functional changes that occur when disease exists or is developing. Thermography is used to encourage further assessment with traditional testing if changes are noted in consecutive thermographic scans. Thermographic imaging is aimed at screening for change over time to detect developing abnormalities and early risk factors.
This specialized physiological test is designed to detect evidence of angiogenesis, hyperthermia from nitric oxide, estrogen dominance, lymph abnormality/congestion, and inflammatory processes including inflammatory breast disease all of which cannot be detected by other structural screening methods including mammography and ultrasound. Thermography is not intended to replace standard-of-care screening but to assist in early intervention. We believe that thermography should be viewed as a complementary, not competitive, tool to mammography and ultrasound; one test does not replace the other. Thermography has the ability to identify patients at the highest level of risk and actually increase the effective usage of mammograms and ultrasounds. Research confirms that thermography, when used with other screening procedures can improve the sensitivity of breast cancer detection.
Clinical trials have shown
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Research has shown "breast thermography significantly augments the long-term survival rates of its recipients by as much as 61%"(1).
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When used as part of a multifaceted approach (including clinical examination, ultrasound, mammography, and thermography) 95% of early stage cancers may be detected (1,3).
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Breast thermography has undergone extensive research since the late 1950s with strict standardized interpretation protocols that have been established for over 20 years.
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Over 30 years of research compiling over 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography exist in the index-Medicus literature.
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Clinical studies have shown breast thermography to have an average sensitivity and specificity of 90%(4).
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A persistent abnormal thermogram carries with it a 22x higher risk of future breast disease (4).
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In numerous long term clinical trials, breast thermography has the ability to detect the first signs that a cancerous condition may be forming up to 8-10 years before other methods can detect it (1,3,6,7).
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It has been determined that no one method of examination alone will serve all the needs in early breast cancer detection (2,3,5).
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It is important to remember that no one breast test is 100% accurate. For this reason, we suggest a multimodal approach (used along with routine ultrasound, mammogram, and clinical examination) to monitor your breast health.
1) M. Gautherie, Ph.D.; Thermobiological Assessment of Benign and Malignant Breast Diseases. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 1983; V 147, No. 8: 861-869.
2) American Cancer Society – Breast Cancer Guidelines and Statistics, 2005
3) P. Gamigami, M.D.; Atlas of Mammography: New Early Signs in Breast Cancer. Blackwell Science, 1996.
4) P. Haehnel, M.D., M. Gautherie, Ph.D. et al; Long-Term Assessment of Breast Cancer Risk by Thermal Imaging. In: Biomedical Thermology, 1980; 279-301.
5) I. Nyirjesy, M.D. et al; Clinical Evaluation, Mammography and Thermography in the Diagnosis of Breast Carcinoma. Thermology, 1986; 1: 170-173.
6) P.Ahlgren, M.D., E. Yu, M.D., J. Keyserlingk, M.D.; Is it Time to Reassess the Value of Infrared Breast Imaging? Primary Care & Cancer (NCI), 1998; V 18, No. 2
7) N. Belliveau, M.D., J. Keyserlingk, M.D. et al ; Infrared Imaging of the Breast: Initial Reappraisal Using High-Resolution Digital Technology in 100 Successive Cases of Stage I and II Breast Cancer. Breast Journal, 1998; V 4, No. 4