Breast Screening

Breast 

This thermal imaginal series consists of 7 images and includes the entire chest, breasts & axillary regions. Anterior, oblique, lateral and inferior views are obtained. 
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Breast Thermography can aid in the assessment of various dysfunctions, diseases, and other concerns in the breasts to include:
  • Breast Cancer
  • Dense Breast Tissue
  • Fibrocystic Breast Condition
  • Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women in the US will experience a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. There are over 20,000 cases of breast cancer each year in women between the ages of 20-40. When cancer occurs in younger woman it is usually a much more aggressive form, and less likely to respond to treatment. Currently, there is no routine screening method recommended for women under the age of forty. Breast thermography can help fill that void. When used as part of an early detection program it gives a baseline for breast health, and provides a clinical marker for women of any age.  
A woman 's breasts are shown in a thermal image and in a black and white image.
This client was diagnosed with a 2.4 cm tumor behind the right nipple (retroareolar carcinoma) following her thermography screening. She had several mammograms prior that did not detect this tumor. According to cancer.gov, mammography misses up to 20% of tumors overall, and statistically is ineffective in younger women, especially those with dense breast tissue.

Dense Breast Tissue 

Dense breast tissue refers to the appearance of breast tissue on a mammogram. Breast tissue is composed of milk glands, milk ducts and supportive tissue (dense breast tissue), and fatty tissue (nondense breast tissue). When viewed on a mammogram, women with dense breasts have more dense tissue than fatty tissue. Dense breast tissue appears as a solid white area on a mammogram, which makes it difficult to see through. Having dense breast affects women in two ways 
  1. Increases the chance that breast cancer may go undetected by a mammogram, since dense breast tissue can mask a potential cancer
  2. Increases your risk of breast cancer, though doctors aren't certain why

Like many women, this client has dense breast tissue. For her this has meant years of undergoing repeat mammograms, ultrasounds, MRIs, and biopsies, all ultimately finding nothing and subjecting her body to additional radiation and surgical procedures. Following the most recent mammogram she received the familiar letter that findings were inconclusive and that a repeat mammogram and ultrasound were needed. After years of hearing these same words she was tempted to skip the follow up, figuring it was, as in the past, nothing. Then she thought about another screening tool she had heard of, thermography. This client had her first thermography screening just two weeks following her annual mammogram. The thermogram showed an area pf suspicion and prompted her physician to further investigate, which ultimately lead to a cancer diagnosis.

Right Side Breast Cancer
It is a thermal image of a person 's body.
This client was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ducal carcinoma following a thermography screening and biopsy. The density of breast tissue does not effect the accuracy or effectiveness of breast thermography.   

Fibrocystic Breast Condition

It is estimated that over half of all women will experience fibrocystic breasts at some time in their lives, making it a very common condition. It is a benign (noncancerous) condition characterized by round lumps filled with fluid that move freely within the breast tissue and generally expand and shrink with the onset and end of the menstrual cycle. This breast condition is most commonly found in women in their 20s to 50s, and is most pronounced in women during their 40s. Common symptoms include tenderness and discomfort, as well as more noticeable lumps which are usually present the week before menstruation begins. A fibrocystic condition is an example of a physiological change within the body in relationship to a hormonal imbalance that thermography can detect. 
These images are two examples of fibrocystic breast conditions. When there is an excess of estrogen in the body, referred to as estrogen dominance, it flows into different tissues of the body, including the breasts creating a fibrocystic breast condition. This is seen and describe as mottling patterns on a thermography report

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a very aggressive disease in which cancer cells block lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. Although IBC is rare, accounting for 1-5% of all breast cancers diagnosed in the US, it progresses rapidly, often in a matter of weeks or months. Its aggressive nature makes early detection critical. IBC is different than other forms of breast cancer, and it is difficult to diagnose. There is usually no lump that can be felt during physical examination, or detected with mammography or by ultrasound, and is often mistaken for infection.


Signs of IBC:

 

  • Enlargement in one breast
  • Bruised or pinkish-red appearance
  • Heat radiating from the breast
  • Dimpling on the surface of the skin
  • Inverted nipple
  • Pain or tenderness
  • Enlarged lymph nodes around the area of the breast, under the arm or above the collar bone