One of the largest and most detailed studies of mammography ever done (nyti.ms/1eSbFcm), involving 90,000 women and lasting 25 years, has added new doubts about the value of the screening test for women of any age.

It found that the death rates from breast cancer and from all causes were the same in women that got mammograms and those that did not, and the screening had harms. One in five cancers found with mammography and treated was not a threat to the woman’s health and did not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.

With these findings, more confusion than ever about mammography permeates our culture of early detection. Now may 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 was registered by the U.S. food and Drug Administration in 1982. It is an adjunctive screening using a thermal camera to detect changes in breast physiology prior to the formation of a tumor.

This safe and effective 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 that all play a role in the later development of a cancerous lump. Awareness of these risk factors offers women a chance to reverse this trend through lifestyle changes and addressing the concerning 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.

Image 1: Client’s thermal profile showed congested/stagnant lymph in breast tissue, axillary region (arm pits) and infra-mammary region (below breasts) bilaterally, asymmetrical findings (left breast had more hyperthermia “heat” than right breast) and worrisome vascular patterns (possible developing pathology).

Image 2: Same client one year later after making lifestyle changes including diet, exercise, stress management, hydration, improvements in sleeping thereby reducing her risk profile. 

Lynda Witt is a certified clinical thermographer and owner of Proactive Health Solutions, LLC. For more information, call 520-235-7036 or visit ProactiveHealthSolutions.org. See ad page 37.