Thermography: Another Option for Breast Health
Study Shows Computer-Aided Mammography When Used Alone
Increases False-Positive Results
From Alternatives Newsletter Winter 2007-2008
Breast cancer is a top concern for
many women, and it’s no wonder. This
cancer is the most common type among women in the United States, and the second
leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer, according to the
American Cancer Society.
About 178,480 women in the United
States were found to have invasive breast cancer in 2007. About 40,460 women were expected to die from
the disease last year, the American Cancer Society reports. The good news is that breast cancer death
rates are going down. And, right now, there are about two and a half million
breast cancer survivors in the United States.
Early diagnosis is vital to a cure. And one of those important tools for early
detection is thermography, according to Dr. Patricia Ryan, founder of
Alternatives. Thermography is technology
that employs a digital infrared camera and computer systems to measure heat
from the surface of the breasts, one early risk sign of breast cancer. The test produces an image, which can be
evaluated for abnormalities in the breast.
Alternatives: A Center for Conscious Health, now offers this service to
its patients.
An abnormal thermogram is the single most important marker
of high risk for developing breast cancer – eight times more significant than a
family history of the disease, according to a 1980 study.1
Thermography is a painless procedure that involves no
radiation and poses no health risks, according to Dr. Ryan. Studies show up to a 61 percent increase in
survival rate when thermography and mammogram are used together.2
According to Dr. Ryan, more traditional testing alone,
including computer-aided detection (CAD) mammograms, has been shown not to
enhance identification of serious cancers, but rather increase false-positive
results and biopsies, according to a New
England Journal of Medicine study from April 5, 2007.3
The study estimated that for every additional woman
diagnosed with breast cancer using CAD, 156 women are falsely recalled for more
tests and 14 had unnecessary biopsies, Dr. Ryan noted. “Computer-aided mammography is similar to
digitalized mammography and now very popular in the medical community.”
For more information about breast thermography, attend the New
Year – New You symposium on Jan. 17th.
1. P. Haehnel, M.D., M
Gautherie, Ph.D. et al; Long-Term Assessment of Breast Cancer Risk by Thermal
Imaging. In: Biomedical Thermology,
1980; 279-301.
2. M. Gautherie, Ph.D; Thermobiological Assessment
of Benign and Malignant Breast Diseases.
Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 1983; V147, No. 8:861-869.
3. Fenton J.J., Taplin S.H.,
Carney, P.A. et al. Influence of computer-aided detection on performance of
screening mammography (abstract). The New
England Journal of Medicine, April 5, 2007; 356:1399-1409.
No comments:
Post a Comment