One of the largest and most detailed studies of mammography ever done, involving 90,000 women and lasting 25 years, has added new doubts about the value of the screening test for women of any age, as reported in the New York Times.

The research found that death rates from breast cancer and from all causes were the same in women that got mammograms and those that did not. Plus, the screening itself caused harm. It turns out that one in five cancers found with mammography is not a threat to the woman’s health and does not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.

With these findings, more confusion about mammography now permeates our culture of early detection, and it may well be the time to consider the use of screening from a paradigm of prevention instead of the paradigm of detection.

Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) has been around for more than 30 years and has been registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since 1982. It is an adjunctive screening method that uses a thermal camera to detect changes in breast physiology prior to the formation of a tumor. This safe, effective, non-invasive and painless technique offers women the opportunity to determine risk factors for breast disease, lymphatic congestion, hormonal imbalances, asymmetrical thermal patterns or new patterns of vascular growth, which all play a role in the later development of a cancerous lump.

Awareness of these risk factors offers women a chance to reverse the trend through lifestyle changes and addressing the thermal findings, which can lead to better outcomes and prognoses. DITI takes a four-pronged approach to breast imaging: risk assessment; detection (not as a standalone technology), prevention/early intervention; and monitoring effects of therapy.

Lynda Witt is a certified clinical thermographer and owner of Proactive Health Solutions, LLC. She can be contacted at 520-235-7036 or ProactiveHealthSolutions.org.