Breast Thermography
Breast Thermography is a radiation-free state-of- the-art screening procedure that captures heat images of the breast to aid in the early detection of breast cancer.
As a tumor grows, it develops a bigger (and hotter) blood supply. An infrared camera picks this up as a heat signal and forms an image like the ones below on a computer.
It is then easy to see the differences that are present from side to side and where tumor development may be taking place.
History
Breast thermography was discovered in 1956 in Montreal, Canada and rapidly became popular throughout the world. It was FDA cleared as an adjunctive screening procedure for breast cancer in 1982. Recent advancements in technology have allowed us to perform even more accurante exams. A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Surgery, performed at New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell showed a 97% sensitivity in discriminating cancer compaired to biopsy.
Young Woman at Risk
A very important area of consideration is the neglected category of women under the age of 40. We do not hear much about it, but there are over 20,000 case of breast cancer in this age group each year in the USA. When cancer occurs in a younger woman it is usually a much more agressive form, and less likely to respond to treatment. There is currently no other routine screening test for women under 40, and thermography is a perfect test for these women as there is no radiation from the exam.
Available Research
The Index Medicus, a comprehensive index of medical scientific journal articless, references mmore than 800 per-reviewed breast thermography studies, in which over 250,000 women participated. Many of these studies involved very large groups of patients (from 37,000 to over 100,000) and some have followed patients for as much as 12 years. Among other conclusions, these studies found that when thermography has been added to a woman's regular breast health checkups, a 61% increased survival rate was realized, and when used as part of a multi-model approach (clinical examination, mammography and thermography) 95% of early stage cancers will be detected.
We Found The Cure
It is well known that early detection is the best defense against breast cancer and that, if treated in the earliest stages, a 95% cure rate is achieved. The "cure" is early detection.
