Thermal Imaging: Thermography for Breast Cancer Screening

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 200,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed each year in the US, making it three times more common than other gynecological cancers, and more deadly than lung cancer for women. Even more disturbing is the speed at which breast cancer rates have risen over the past 5 decades.  In 1960, one in 20 women was diagnosed—but today, it is one in sevenBreast cancer facts:

• Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women age 40 to 55.
• 15% of all breast cancers occur in women under age 45. In this age group, breast cancers are more aggressive and have lower recovery rates.
• 80 % of breast lumps are NON-cancerous.
• 70% of breast cancers are found through breast self-exams.
• About 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of breast cancer.

The Danger of Mammograms

Mammograms use ionizing radiation at a relatively high dose, which can contribute to the mutations that can lead to breast cancer. You can get as much radiation from one mammogram as you would from 1,000 chest X-rays. Mammography also compresses your breasts tightly, which can lead to a dangerous spread of cancerous cells."The premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 radiation exposure increases breast cancer risk by about 1% with a cumulative 10% increased risk for each breast over a decade's screening."Unfortunately, many women are completely unaware that the science simply does not back up the use of routine mammograms as a means to prevent breast cancer death.The Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews revealed that mammography breast cancer screening led to 30% over-diagnosis and overtreatment, which equates to an absolute risk increase of 0.5 percent.  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/15/politics-behind-mammography.aspxThere's also the risk of getting a false negative, meaning that a life-threatening cancer is missed.The New 3D Tomosynthesis (Yes, a 3D Mammogram) – This procedure exposes women to TWICE as much radiation as a standard mammogram.  Please RUN AWAY from this procedure.http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/03/experts-say-avoid-mammograms.aspx

Did You Know?

At least 30 percent of tumors found on mammograms would go away if you did absolutely nothing. These tumors appear to be destined to stop growing on their own, shrink, and even go away completely. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/03/experts-say-avoid-mammograms.aspx 

A better Option: Thermal Imaging (Thermology)

Mammography cannot detect a tumor until after it has been growing for years and reaches a certain size. Thermography is able to detect the possibility of breast cancer much earlier, because it can show the early stages of a formation of a direct supply of blood to cancer cells.  Which is a necessary step before they can grow into tumors of noticeable size.Breast Thermography Is a Noninvasive Prognostic Procedure That Predicts Tumor Growth Rate, but you’re not likely to hear about them from your general practitioner. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1993.tb17203.x/abstractPeer review journals and research on more than 300,000 women who have been tested using thermal Imaging technology shows great successes in detecting breast cancer with greater accuracy than other methods, including mammograms. This technology is slowly gaining ground among more progressive practitioners. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/04/why-mammography-is-not-an-effective-breast-cancer-screen.aspxThermography scans are absolutely painless and risk-free. They involve no compression of tissue, are non-invasive, and emit no radiation. Thermography uses an infrared camera to graphically illustrate skin temperature by way of a color image. On the image, degrees of heat appear as different colors. Standard diagnostic tests such as mammograms, x-rays, MRI’s, ultrasounds and CAT scans are designed to test your anatomy. By contrast, thermography tests for physiological change and metabolic processes. It measures the amount of body heat delivered to your skin through cellular metabolism and your nervous system.Serious conditions tend to show themselves in the form of skin tenderness or sensitivity to touch. You skin is connected to your internal organs. Your skin temperature patterns are indicators of metabolic activity in different parts of your body. Disturbances in your body’s metabolic processes appear through the thermal imaging as areas of inflammation, degeneration and/or blockage. If these areas are left untreated, these metabolic and cellular stresses often show up in the form of anatomical damage years later (tumors).Many studies have been conducted using thermal imaging to screen for breast cancer.  According to the results, thermography may be useful in the initial screening and supplementation of diagnostic procedures due to its safety (its non-radiation properties), low cost and the good recognition of breast tissue disease.  Thermography has an accuracy rate of 80.95%, with 100% sensitivity and 70.6% specificity in identifying breast cancer. The results are promising as compared to clinical examination by experienced radiologists, which has an accuracy rate of approximately 60-70%. For breast cancer care, it has become possible to use thermography as a powerful adjunct and biomarker tool.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17852648 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26745126Thermography allows you to detect the beginnings of a disease sooner, so you’re able to take appropriate treatment steps to get your body healing right away. Think of thermography as preventive medicine, which can be used to detect, control and even prevent serious illness or disease that otherwise would not be diagnosed until it is well-advanced.Information on Self-Exams: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/07/major-confusion-on-how-to-do-breast-checks.aspx

Breast Cancer Prevention

From: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/19/tomosynthesis-mammography.aspx“Cancer screening is NOT to be misconstrued as a form of cancer prevention. Preventing breast cancer is far more important and powerful than simply trying to detect it after it has already formed, which is why I want to share my top tips on how to help prevent this disease in the first place.In the largest review of research into lifestyle and breast cancer, the American Institute of Cancer Research estimated that about 40% of U.S. breast cancer cases could be prevented. 

• Avoid sugar, especially fructose. All forms of sugar are detrimental to health in general and promote cancer. Fructose, however, is clearly one of the most harmful and should be avoided as much as possible.
• Optimize your vitamin D. Vitamin D influences virtually every cell in your body and is one of nature's most potent cancer fighters. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis (cell death). If you have cancer, your vitamin D level should be between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works synergistically with every cancer treatment I'm aware of, with no adverse effects.
• Get plenty of natural vitamin A. There is evidence that vitamin A also plays a role in helping prevent breast cancer. It's best to obtain it from vitamin A-rich foods, rather than a supplement. Your best sources are organic egg yolks, raw butter, raw whole milk, and beef or chicken liver.
• Lymphatic breast massage can help enhance your body's natural ability to eliminate cancerous toxins. This can be applied by a licensed therapist, or you can perform a self-lymphatic massage.
• Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide — a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried — has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.
• Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells.
• Improve your insulin receptor sensitivity. The best way to do this is by avoiding sugar and grains and making sure you are exercising.
• Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally when you begin eating right for your nutritional type and exercising. It's important to lose excess body fat because fat produces estrogen.
• Get plenty of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.
• Curcumin. This is the active ingredient in turmeric and in high concentrations can be very useful adjunct in the treatment of breast cancer. It shows immense therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis.
• Avoid drinking alcohol, or at least limit your alcoholic drinks to one per day.
• Breastfeed exclusively for up to six months. Research shows breastfeeding can reduce your breast cancer risk, especially if you surpass 2 years of breastfeeding.
• Avoid wearing underwire bras. There is a good deal of data that metal underwire bras can heighten your breast cancer risk.
• Avoid electromagnetic fields as much as possible. Even electric blankets can increase your cancer risk.
• Avoid synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Breast cancer is an estrogen-related cancer, and according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer rates for women dropped in tandem with decreased use of hormone replacement therapy. (There are similar risks for younger women who use oral contraceptives. Birth control pills, which are also comprised of synthetic hormones, have been linked to cervical and breast cancers.)

If you are experiencing excessive menopausal symptoms, you may want to consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy instead, which uses hormones that are molecularly identical to the ones your body produces and do not wreak havoc on your system. This is a much safer alternative.

• Avoid BPA, phthalates and other xenoestrogens. These are estrogen-like compounds that have been linked to increased breast cancer risk
• Make sure you're not iodine deficient, as there's compelling evidence linking iodine deficiency with breast cancer. Iodine has potent anticancer properties and has been shown to cause cell death in breast and thyroid cancer cells.