Natural Harmony LLC

Thermography

Recently the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended new guidelines for having mammograms.These guidelines were based on a 1999 meta-analysis published in The Lancet, the UKs premier medical journal in 2000. It stated that "Screening for breast cancer with mammography is unjustified." The study showed that "for every 1000 females having mammograms over a 12-year period, the life of one was saved, while the total number of deaths increased by six." The new U.S. recommendations did not get published until November 17 of 2009, nine years after the publication in The Lancet.

So what is a woman to do now? Since 1982 thermography has been FDA approved for breast cancer screening. Thermography is digital infrared imaging, a technology that uses an infrared camera that senses and records patterns of heat and displays the image on a computer screen. It does not use x-rays and your breast tissue is not squished between cold metal plates. Radiation has a negative, cumulative effect and the smashing could burst a tumor, possibly causing the spread of cancerous cells into the bloodstream.

Mammograms detect structures while thermograms record the physiology of the breasts. Cancer can be found on a mammogram only when it has grown to a mass large enough to be detected. That means mammograms can only detect cancer already in progress. Wouldn't you want to know if you had the conditions brewing for the formation of cancer before you get it? Thermography can pick up breast disease eight to ten years earlier than mammography can pick up a tumor.

Dense breast tissue is not an issue with thermography as it is with mammograph. Dense breast tissue is normal and healthy among younger women, but it is harder to get a good image through dense tissue using radiation. Thermography will detect fibrocystic conditions and is best at detecting inflammatory breast disease that mammograms can miss because they don't record inflammation.

How is a thermogram done? You sit in a warm room and undress from the waist up. You put on a medical gown and fill out health history paperwork. Then the gown is dropped to the waist and images are recorded at a distance by the camera and stored on a computer. These images are then emailed to board certified medial doctors trained to read them. Results are usually obtained in 1-2 days.

If the report comes back with notations about an area of suspicion, you may then choose to get an ultrasound, MRI or mammogram for a diagnostic evaluation.

Sessions are payed for at the time of service and insurance or co-pays are not accepted. It is your obligation to find out if your insurance company covers the procedure. You will be given a copy of the report and a report will be mailed to your doctor at your request.

Costs: First sitting for $200. Second sitting within three to four months is $175. All sessions thereafter are $175.  Two sessions are necessary at first to create a baseline for later reference. Yearly thermograms are suggested. If you can spot something early enough, there is the chance you can take steps to prevent a serious problem.

Thermography sessions can be scheduled by calling The Institute for Natural Health and Wellness, 541 Cedar Hill Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ 201-612-1017.

There are three other thermographers on staff. If you want me to do your session, please request that at the time you make your appointment. Sessions are available Monday through Saturday.