new draft recommendations on breast cancer screening do not even mention the option of thermography.
Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo is a physician, Professor of Medicine at the University
of California San Francisco, and vice chair of the US Preventive Services
Task Force which recently updated its recommendations on breast cancer
screening. She writes about it in this
article from the Washington Post.
One of the most controversial recommendations was for women under the age
of 50 with no physical signs of breast cancer (i.e. no palpable lump)
and no family history of BRCA gene mutations.
The recommendation was against routine mammography for women between the
ages of 40 and 49 for two reasons:
What she did not mention is that radiation is the one thing that we absolutely
know causes cancer.
She also did not mention that a positive mammogram leads to more mammograms,
or digital mammography, and then usually a biopsy, followed by surgery
to remove either the lump or the breast, followed by radiation and/or
She also did not mention that biopsy is associated with increased risk
of recurrence of cancer. A study published in 2008 found that initial
core biopsy of a suspicious lesion was associated with increased risk
of positive lymph nodes.1 "...we hypothesize that the anatomical
disruption after preoperative biopsy procedures increases the likelihood
of epithelial cell displacement and the frequency of IHC-positive Sentinel
Lymph Nodes..." That study also found that there was no increase
in survival if radiation therapy was done following surgery.
So... if you feel a lump, get it evaluated.
Thermography will show if there is heat or inflammation associated with the lump.
Mammography will show how big it is. Biopsy (preferably complete removal of the lump
- called excisional biopsy) will tell whether it is cancer.
Cancer is a disease of inflammation, so
thermography is a good place to start.
Call us at 480-240-2600 to schedule your thermogram.