Thursday, April 28, 2011

Thermography


Hey ladies, this post is for you!  Not the usual farm post but nonetheless it is worth reading.  Please remember these views are strictly mine.  With this post, I hope to give information to those who are unaware or to give more info to those who might have heard of thermography but have yet to try it. It is not my intention to upset anyone who is a practioner in the traditional medical workforce, I just feel that this testing is worth my time.

Today I received breast thermography.  No, it is not a mammogram or anything like it which is why I prefer this method for the time being.  Breast thermography is a clinical diagnostic procedure which uses highly specialized infra red cameras to measure the heat coming from the body, in this case, the breast.  Alternative med docs will most likely be able to administer this type of testing for you.  It takes several years for a cancerous growth to become a real danger beginning with the inflamed cells and finally reaching the tumor stage.  Studies are pointing with more frequency that inflammation is the precursor to cancers and all sorts of diseases.  Regarding breast issues, once you find a lump, your stage may be advanced or it could be nothing at all.  If your thermographic reading detects inflammation, then you have a chance to seek a more detailed examine thru mammography or ultrasound before the lump has developed to a size that is easy to detect.  I prefer ultrasound, though the standard medical rule is get a mammogram, receive a nice dose of radiation and if the results are positive then go get an ultrasound. 

I prefer to avoid the painful compression, the numerous false positives that so many of my friends have received, the emotional roller coaster, the incomplete results for those with dense tissue and fibroids, etc, and go right to the ultrasound.  However, since they are more expensive perhaps that is the reason the insurance companies require the mammogram first?  Maybe because medical community makes more money with all of the testing?  I am not sure...but I do know a nurse practitioner who works for an oncologist who privately told me that the ultrasound does a better job at cancer detection.  If I could afford the ultrasound or if the insurance company would agree to pay with no mammogram then I would alternate both ultrasound and thermography every couple of years just to be sure.  Okay back to thermography.

Breast thermography is cheap compared to mammography and ultrasound.  I paid $150 out of pocket since insurance companies will not pay for such procedures.  It is not painful.  No tissue is compressed.  No radiation is received.  This will be my third such procedure and my results will be compared with the past two.  The video link below offers an excellent view of the entire procedure and the explanations are superior.

For those of you who are interested, I linked several articles for further reading.  The last link is from the LA Times, about the FDA threatening a medical doctor to stop making claims about thermography.  Just this week the article was reported....Now how many times has the FDA disappointed us?  Hmmmm, first they tell us a drug is safe then five years later after the human population have been their test monkeys, they determine that the drug is no longer safe and causing all sorts of problems....thanks FDA, there are times when I do not trust you.  I rather be safe than sorry.  If thermography has the ability to give me a head's up before anything has a chance to grow into a tumor or can be manually discovered, then I am all for it. 

CBS NEWS Breast Thermography...See Exactly How it Works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaS3VIyltJQ

YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE....Inflammation long been associated with the development of cancer...read ABSTRACT and click on articles on RIGHT COLUMN for further info.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994795/

NEW LINK BETWEEN INFLAMATION AND PANCREATIC CANCER
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110411121529.htm

BREAST CANCER WARNING SIGNS
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/cancer/articles/2010/10/04/breast-cancer-warning-signs

FDA SCOLDS DOCTOR
http://www.latimes.com/health/ct-met-fda-warns-mercola-20110425,0,4080491.story

22 comments:

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Thank-you for posting this info! As I'm getting ready to turn (gulp) 50 in a couple of months, this topic of course has been on my mind...

By the way, from my dashboard I thought the picture was one of weather radar--We're having terrible storms this morning! :-)))

Sara said...

I've never heard of this! Thanks for the post. I will remember it when the time comes.

Lori Skoog said...

An excellent post! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Buttons Thoughts said...

This is a very good post. I think that this is a very important decision and you have given us the ammunition to go with.
Mammograms are very uncomfortable and without radiation would be a great thing. Thank you. B

lisa said...

My mother in law did a mammogram and it did not detect the cancer and Dad noticed the lump and told her to go to the doctor and have it checked and she did have cancer. So, the mammogram did not detect the cancer until it was to late. She is cancer free now but it was very painful and scary thing. I have mammograms done but I usually do end up having to have an ultrasound done also. I have nevery heard about the heat thermal.

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

smart girl lisa...i am glad you do the ultrasound and that your insurance company permits this testing. thank you sharing this important information about your mother in law and i am very very glad she is cancer free!

♥I am Holly♥ said...

Thanks for the information. That sounds much better than the mammogram! I'll have to check into it here since my time has come again for that test! Lots of love, Debbie

Jill said...

Thanks for such an informative post! I have always wanted to learn more about this.

Rae said...

Excellent info. As a certified oncology nurse I always appreciate when someone takes the time to pass on helpful info like this. I agree about the ultrasound being a useful exam. I like it better than the mammogram too.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Good for you for taking care of yourself!

Now if only they could develop thermography of the colon...

RDA Pony Tales said...

Thank you so much for passing on this information which I have found most interesting. I will definitely look into it as I am due to have a mammogram. Abby

Michaele said...

Thanks so much for posting this information. I really had never heard of it.

Phyllis said...

Thank you for your kind comment on my recent post. I do try hard to be the best I can be.

I've never heard of thermography and am going to have to ask around about it. Thanks for the important info!

Fishtail Cottage said...

Thanks so much for coming over & commenting on my blog & sharing all that interesting info. on those deer....i thought the little one looked a bit thin - hoping they will be okay...it's so odd to see them here in my area. If you saw where i live, you'd understand how out of place they are! Was sad for them to be honest! xoxo, tracie

Nancy Grossi ~ Churned In Cali ~ The Wife of a Dairyman said...

Thank you for sharing this information. I would love to alternate mammograms every other year or so with this type of exam. I have heard of it but haven't talked to anyone who has tried this.....until now. I look forward to more visits:)

C and C Antiques and Animals - What a Life! said...

Thanks for sharing. I have never heard of this and I always dread getting a mammogram. So painful and I have gotten false results in the past. I am going to check into seeing if my insurance will pay for this.

Naturegirl said...

As one who has fought cancer twice..breast being one; this post really interests me!
I will ask my oncologist if Thermography is available in Canada!
Inflamation is the root to many discomforts within the body that can lead to disease. I know this to be true.
Great post!

Anonymous said...

Interesting post...thanks for sharing the information about thermography!

Creations by Dina said...

My mother had breast cancer 20 years ago. It did not show up in a mammogram either. The doctor found the lump. She had her breast removed and is still doing well today. I am only in my mid 30s but have to get a mammogram every year because of family history. The doctors have to submit it to the insurrance companies as a high risk to make sure that they will pay for it. I have heard of thermography. I am going to start looking for it in my area!!

Michelle said...

Very interesting post. I have had similar issues like you described (dense breasts, false positives, etc) and find this procedure intriguing. Now that I have crappy health insurance and have to pay out of pocket anyway, this would be the same price for me to do. I'm going to look into it and thanks for the tip!

allhorsestuff said...

THAT IS AWESOME!!!
I have Therography done on my mare all the time- and for us...that is tremdous!
Excellent post and I will look into that!
Thanks so much for posting this!
KK

Lana from Farm Life Lessons said...

My mother died of breast cancer at 57 years of age. She had gone thru the trouble to get a mammogram EVERY year and they said the cancer (two tumors that were large enough to feel upon manual palpatation) had probably been there for at least 5 years undetected because of her dense breast tissue and the tumors were in a lower quadrant of the breast, not so great for mammogram detection. MD Anderson in Houston Texas finally confirmed the lumps upon MRI. I've been told that an MRI is far superior for breast lump detection, but that it is often cost prohibitive. I have a controversial attitude toward mammograms...if the tumor is not in the right place in the breast tissue, if the breast tissue is not of the right density and if someone messes up administering the mammography, then the test is not so great at detecting; hence, my mother's death EVEN after yearly mammograms. I do not trust mammograms, but am surprised at how they are shoved down the throats of women when the test such as you just described can be more useful. I believe the insurance industry, the mammogram manufacturers, marketing programs, etc. have cultivated overgrown glory for mammograms than is deserved, even as more reasonable methods exist, but are not promoted. Thank you for sharing.