Thermography: Powering A Revolution in Early Breast Cancer Screening

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, we’re shining a spotlight on thermography. Thermography, a form of heat imaging, is an amazing way to spot breast cancer early. Better still, It is pain-free, risk-free, and radiation-free! For many years, the FDA has recognized it as an effective adjunct screening tool to mammograms.

Read on to find out how heat scans are revolutionizing the fight against breast cancer – and how they can help you, too!

Fighting the Heartbreak of Breast Cancer

Too many of us have experienced the heartbreak of breast cancer. Some of us have lost a beloved family member. Others have supported a dear friend through a devastating diagnosis. You may have even suffered from breast cancer personally.

Sadly, around one in eight (13%) of American women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime. Around 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer were, tragically, diagnosed in the US this year alone. To this day, breast cancer remains the most common form of cancer suffered by women.

But there is hope on the horizon. Powering a previously unobtainable ability to spot the disease at its earliest possible stages, thermography, or DITI (Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging) offers us a valuable way to fight back.

Using Heat Scans to Fight Cancer

Innovative, risk-free, pain-free, non-invasive & radiation-free, DITI (Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging) has already been approved by the FDA. It is not recognized as an effective adjunct treatment to mammograms for women of all ages.

So what is it, exactly?

DITI is essentially a heat imaging tool. It uses an extremely sensitive heat camera to output high-resolution, infrared photographs of the inside of your breast. DITI is able to pick up on extremely subtle changes in the temperature, metabolism, and blood flow of breast tissue. Why is this important? Because adaptations in any of these variables could be indicative of the early stages of formation of a tumor or lesion.

Here’s how it works. As breast tumors require an increase in blood supply in order to form and grow, their growth is always accompanied by sudden unexplained patterns in increased heat, metabolic rate & blood flow. You won’t feel it happening. But a DITI can alert a clinician to it immediately.

As cancer cells divide and grow rapidly, anomalous localized increases in blood flow, metabolism & temperature will continue to accelerate over time. DITI offers an excellent means of closely monitoring these upward shifts and temperature gradients.

Furthermore, by comparing metabolic patterns in each breast – which should be virtually identical. Asymmetries alert a DITI clinician immediately to unusual and therefore potentially cancerous activity. The amazing result could be the detection of cancer even before growth has formed.

Fully FDA Approved

It should be noted that shifts in heat patterns and vascular activity can be attributable to a whole range of factors. It might be that anomalous blood flow is simply caused by hormonal dysfunction or inflammation, for example. DITI simply reflects heat patterns, not cancer itself. That’s exactly why the FDA has approved thermography as an adjunct, and not a standalone, diagnostic tool.

In the hands of a trained clinician – however – DITI can be used very effectively in cancer screening. It can alert us to the need for further immediate testing, or a mammogram, for example. DITI ultimately remains a truly powerful tool, offering the opportunity to spot cancerous indicators earlier than any other technology (including mammograms) can achieve.

Early Screening: The Holy Grail?

So why is early screening so vital? Well, the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) reports that early screening for women in their 40’s can reduce the chance of dying from breast cancer by 25%. So in short, we know that early diagnoses save lives.

Our Studio Frustratingly, however, women are not offered routine screening until they reach their 50’s. This is a risk, because a large percentage of breast cancer sufferers receive their diagnosis while still in their 40’s. DITI thermography subsequently opens up early testing opportunities for women of any age.

We also know that, while mammograms remain the gold standard for breast cancer diagnosis, the efficiency of mammogram scans drops to as low as 50% in detecting cancer in women with dense breast tissue. This underlines the need for alternative, or effective adjunct means of screening (like DITI).

Additionally, mammograms rely on the presence of cancerous tumors or lesions for detection to occur. This is problematic because by this stage, the disease has already progressed significantly. Conversely, DITI can detect minute physiological adaptations in the breast way before a tumor has even formed. That opens the door to maximally effective treatment outcomes, using the least invasive, least aggressive methods possible.

Clinicians generally agree that early screening & diagnosis for breast cancer remains the holy grail. When it comes down to it, thermography offers a risk-free, pain-free way of achieving exactly that.

Interested in Finding Out More?

Are you or someone you love concerned about breast cancer? If you’d like to find out more, read our full-length, thermography article. Alternately, watch the Doctors Studio Thermography introductory video (above) for more details, or reach out to one of our highly qualified Studio Team. Based at our Women’s Clinic, our Studio Team would be happy to offer you a free 15-minute thermography consultation to walk you through your options.

An amazing technological tool, DITI can also be used to identify arthritis, other cancers, back injuries, unexplained pain, nerve damage & many other medical issues. If you’d like us to help you with this or any other medical issue, just like we’ve helped countless others, reach out! We’re always happy to take your call.