I'm here to tell you, YES, there is! It's called a Thermogram, and I have been having them done for 5-years now. This type of cancer screening is not covered by insurance. In fact, allopathic medicine (western medicine) wants you to believe it is not a valuable cancer screening tool and not proven scientifically. However, I personally like this screening process, and here is why.
Last year my niece had her annual mammogram done at Kaiser. It was determined that there was a very small "spot" discovered and she would come back in 6-months. When she came back and (after several tests) the diagnosis was that it was a very aggressive, fast growing cancer which had grown significantly in only 6-months.
I suggested to her to have a thermogram, (offered to pay for it) but she declined. She was not "Open" to this recommendation, and declined. I explained to her that with this technology, a cancerous condition can show up as a "heat" spot, before cells have grown into a cancerous tumor. Hence, she has spent the last year fighting for her life with chemo and other aggressive cancer fighting procedures that are customary for Kaiser.
Here is an explanation as to the scientific explanation of how a thermogram works:
How does MIR help when imaging the breast?
The use of MIR is based on the principle that metabolic activity and vascular circulation in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast cancer is almost always higher than in normal breast tissue. In an ever-increasing need for nutrients, cancerous tumors increase circulation to their cells by holding open existing blood vessels, opening dormant vessels, and creating new ones (neoangiogenesis). This process frequently results in an increase in regional surface temperatures and vascular patterning of the breast. MIR uses ultra-sensitive medical infrared cameras and sophisticated computers to detect, analyze, and produce high-resolution images of these temperature variations and vascular patterns. Because of MIR’s extreme sensitivity, these thermo vascular variations may be among the earliest signs of breast cancer or a pre-cancerous state of the breast (3,6,7,8,9)
While mammography, ultrasound, MRI, and other structural imaging tools rely primarily on finding the physical tumor, medical infrared imaging is based on detecting the heat produced by increased blood vessel circulation and metabolic changes associated with a tumor’s genesis and growth. By detecting minute variations in blood vessel activity, infrared imaging may find thermal signs suggesting a pre-cancerous state of the breast or the presence an early tumor that is not yet large enough to be detected by physical examination, mammography, or other types of structural imaging (3,6,7,8,9).
Studies also show that an abnormal infrared image is the single most important marker of high risk for developing breast cancer, 10 times more significant than a family history of the disease (5). Consequently, in patients with a persistent abnormal thermogram, the examination results become a marker of higher future cancer risk (4,5). Depending upon certain factors, re-examinations are performed at appropriate intervals to monitor the breasts. This gives a woman time to take a pro-active approach by working with her doctor to improve her breast health. By maintaining close monitoring of her breast health with the combined use of infrared imaging, self-breast exams, clinical examinations, mammography, and other tests, a woman has a much better chance of detecting cancer at its earliest stage and preventing invasive tumor growth.
Case Study #4
This patient came to our center after having a normal mammogram and a watchful ultrasound of the left breast. The report recommended follow-up imaging in 6 months. Her doctor was concerned over a thickening of the left breast.
1. Breast Cancer Guidelines and Statistics, 2009-2010.
2. I. Nyirjesy, M.D. et al; Clinical Evaluation, Mammography and Thermography in the Diagnosis of Breast Carcinoma. Thermology, 1986; 1: 170-173. Breast Cancer Guidelines and Statistics, 2009-2010 2.
3. M. Gautherie, Ph.D.; Thermobiological Assessment of Benign and Malignant Breast Diseases. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 1983; V 147, No. 81. American Cancer Society –: 861-869.
4. C. Gros, M.D., M. Gautherie, Ph.D.; Breast Thermography and Cancer Risk Prediction. Cancer, 1980; V 45, No. 1: 51-56.
5. 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.
6. P. Gamigami, M.D.; Atlas of Mammography: New Early Signs in Breast Cancer. Blackwell Science, 1996.
7. J. Keyserlingk, M.D.; Time to Reassess the Value of Infrared Breast Imaging? Oncology News Int., 1997; V 6, No. 9.
8. P.Ahlgren, M.D., E. Yu, M.D., J. Keyserlingk, M.D.; Is it Time to Reassess the Value of Infrared Breast Imaging? Primary Care & Cancer (NCI), 1998; V 18, No. 2.
9. N. Belliveau, M.D., J. Keyserlingk, M.D. et al ; Infrared Imaging of the Breast: Initial Reappraisal Using High-Resolution Digital Technology in 100 Successive Cases of Stage I and II Breast Cancer. Breast Journal, 1998; V 4, No. 4
Last image, the biopsy results were positive for inflammatory breast cancer.
