Understanding Differences Between Thermography & Mammograms

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, but instead of thinking about cancer, why not think about how to have healthy breasts? Women are encouraged to get a mammogram so they can find their breast cancer as early as possible, but instead of early detection, being proactive and identifying risk factors allows plans to be put into action to improve the health of the breast and even reverse developing pathology. This is prevention—not just early detection.

Mammograms image the structure of the breast and thermography images the physiology (e.g., an X-ray of the heart shows its size and location in the chest whereas an EKG shows the function of the heart). Thermography “shows” the function of the breasts and how healthy they are. Mammograms are after the fact—they can only see what is already there. They can identify a mass, if it is large enough, but cannot distinguish the difference between a benign lump and a cancerous tumor.

A tumor must be fed by blood vessels and that vascular formation starts many years before the tumor begins to grow. The vascular feed produces heat which can be seen with thermal imaging. This is an indication that either the body is preparing to produce a cancerous tumor or the mass that is present is most likely cancerous.

There is a large margin between healthy breasts and breast cancer and it’s helpful to know where one falls within that spectrum. There are many factors that can contribute to unhealthy breasts, including dense and fibrocystic breasts, calcifications, lymph congestion, inflammation, thyroid dysfunction, hormone imbalances and more, which can contribute to dis-ease and a possible unfavorable diagnosis down the road.

Thermography tells how healthy the breasts are instead of just screening for breast cancer. It also has the potential to truly detect breast cell anomalies long before mammography can detect cancer. This allows one to implement lifestyle changes that can improve the health of the breasts proactively instead of waiting for a cancer diagnosis later.

It's important to know what's happening in order to make positive changes to increase breast health. Thermography is an excellent tool for one’s self and one’s healthcare practitioner to help identify specific challenges and then monitor the results of the changes made.

There are many things to do to avoid breast cancer, and knowing the risk factors is at the top of the list. With proper risk assessment which includes different testing modalities, the patient is able to determine her risk factors and develop an action plan on how to improve the breast tissue and/or even reverse any existing developments. Knowledge is power!

 June Drennon is a certified clinical thermographer (since 2008) and owned a clinic in the wellness field for 15 years (with certifications in Colon Hydrotherapy and Electro-Lymphatic Drainage Therapy). She is passionate about working with men and women who care about the state of their health and believes prevention is better than detection. For more information and appointments, contact Florida Medical Thermography at 727-729-2711, email  [email protected] and/or visit FloridaMedicalThermography.com.