FAQs
What is the difference between a mammogram and a thermogram?
Many women ask what the difference is between a mammogram and thermogram. It is important to understand that the two tests look at different things, so neither test can completely substitute for the other. Women receive the best care when they use the testing most appropriate to their situation. Mammogram, Ultrasound and MRI are all tests of anatomy (they look at structures) and work best as diagnostic tests, detecting tumors once they have already formed. These tests look for a difference in density between an already established tumor and the tissue that surrounds it. However, a tumor has usually been growing for several years before it is dense enough to be detected by one of these tests. Mammogram is less effective as a screening tool for women prior to menopause (when breast tissue is denser and more vulnerable to X-ray), women with implants, and those with fibrocystic breast changes.
Thermography is a test of physiology (whether the cells and tissues are functioning normally). It looks for signs of tumor formation, such as signs of greater cell turnover, new blood supply that may be nourishing the forming tumor, abnormal patterns of lymphatic drainage, and certain heat signatures that indicate a tumor. Since it is a test of physiology, rather than anatomy, it is unaffected by breast density and therefore especially useful for younger women and women with fibrocystic breasts or implants. Detecting changes at this early stage gives a woman the opportunity to re-balance the body and attempt to reverse these changes before a tumor is established. In the event that a tumor does become established, thermography can help to define the area of interest so that much earlier diagnostic testing is possible than if one were waiting for a mammogram to pick up density changes.
Is the low dose X-ray used in mammograms dangerous?
Women are often told not to worry about the X-ray in mammogram because it is “low dose,” “less than you would get walking through the screening device in an airport.” However, research shows that even though the X-ray used in mammography is lower-dose, it carries up to 5 times the risk of higher dose X-rays that we might receive to evaluate a broken leg, for instance. (see these articles). Why is this? Because the body recognizes the higher dose X-ray as an injury to the body. It sends in immune cells to clean up damaged tissue and DNA after an exposure. The low dose X-ray is so low and diffuse that the body does not recognize it as an injury and so this repair does not take place, leaving behind damaged cells which create more damaged cells when they replicate. Due to this effect, even breast cells that were not initially irradiated are still harmed by the X-ray and the effect is cumulative each time a woman receives a mammogram.
How does thermography work?
A thermographic camera is an extremely sensitive infrared camera calibrated for medical use that reads heat signatures on the skin. When there is disease or abnormality in tissue, the body usually becomes inflamed in that area to as a precursor to the healing process. The infrared camera sees these heat signatures and also sees new blood supply and vascular patterns. The doctors who read and interpret the scans look at factors like increased heat in an area (potentially indicating more metabolism and cell turnover), heat ‘signatures’ of tumors (circumscribed areas that are hot in the middle surrounded by a cooler zone created by chemicals secreted by the tumor as it metabolizes), atypical patterns of lymphatic drainage, and signs that a new blood supply to an area may be forming. In this way, they can see abnormal changes in breast tissue very early, many years before they would show up on a mammogram as a tumor (it is usually 8-10 years before a tumor is big enough and dense enough to show up on mammogram) and often before a tumor is well-established. This earlier detection means that less aggressive methods can be used to heal and re-balance the body.
Why is it necessary to have two thermograms 3 months apart when starting out?
The two-scan, 3-month-interval protocol was developed to establish a “thermal fingerprint” of normal physiological activity that can be used as a reference point for future scans. Before the two-scan protocol, cold stressing was used in one-time thermal scanning of the breasts. This involved taking a thermal scan, then having the woman sit in a cold room for 20-30 minutes or put her hands and feet in cold water to lower the temperature of the body before taking a second scan. It was assumed that this cold stressing would assist in picking up angiogenesis (new blood supply formation) which is correlated with the development or existence of breast cancer. While cold stressing did increase the sensitivity of the test to angiogenesis, it is now evident that angiogenesis is not necessarily present in all stages of breast cancer and that there are other factors involved that cold screening was not reliable in detecting. This makes cold stressing a less accurate way to screen. In 2005, the International Academy of Clinical Thermography recommended the discontinuation of cold stressing in favor of serial testing (establishing a baseline with two scans, three months apart and then yearly scans), as it is much more reliable across all stages of cancer (see these articles). When comparing scans three months apart, one can see progressive changes if there are abnormalities present. If no changes are detected, these scans represent your personal thermal fingerprint.
If thermography works so well, why don’t you hear more about it?
Thermogram and mammogram are equally accurate at what they do. In the late 50s and early 60s when both technologies were being developed, some thought that thermography showed a lot of false positives, because when women with abnormal thermograms had a mammogram, the mammogram did not always show a tumor. However, when women with persistently abnormal thermograms were followed over a twelve-year period, the vast majority of them did develop cancers in the areas of the thermographic abnormalities. The mammogram just couldn’t pick them up until much later. There was a lot of corporate and political influence involved in the decision to put our dollars into mammogram in this country, despite the very real risks involved in X-ray exposure to the breasts (see these articles). Currently mammography is an 10 billion dollar industry. Given that our health care system is profit-driven, it is unlikely that we will see a change in mammogram as the standard of care in this country for breast screening. In Europe and Britain however, it is openly debated in the medical literature whether it is even ethical to screen pre-menopausal women with X-ray, and the mammogram is used more for diagnostic purposes (localizing tumors for biopsy, etc.) than for screening. In May of 2015, Sweden shut down their mammogram screening program, saying that they could no longer justify it based on studies showing that while mammogram may pick up a few more cancers, it does not translate into meaningful outcome differences for women while also increasing the number of unnecessary medical procedures.
What should I look for in a thermographer?
A thermographer should be certified by the American College of Clinical Thermography (ACCT) to do this procedure. This means they have undergone adequate training to keep the necessary protocols, so that everyone is scanned under the same conditions of temperature, light, ambient air, etc. and that the scans taken will be optimal for interpretation. It is also important that the scans be read by qualified physicians (who are trained to read thermograms in the same way that radiologists are trained to read Xrays). Serial scans should be used when screening the breasts, rather than cold-stressing techniques. Make sure the thermographer’s equipment is up-to-date, that they use a camera designed for medical use (not an industrial camera), ask what kind of report you will receive and whether they will assist with interface between your physician and the physicians who read your scans if this should become necessary.