Why Is This Powerful Secret Weapon Against Breast Cancer Still a Secret?

Marilynn Preston
Mon, 07 Oct 2019 21:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

As I've mentioned before, breast cancer doesn't just run in my family, it gallops. My grandmother, my mother, my sister, my niece and way too many women I know and love have all been diagnosed, so when I tell you I keep abreast of this subject, you'll know I'm not just punning you.

And here's what I've discovered about the war on breast cancer that is crucial and has nothing to do with the color pink: Women should take command of their bodies and include thermograms as part of their breast health regimen.
Updated: Tue Oct 08, 2019

As I've mentioned before, breast cancer doesn't just run in my family, it gallops. My grandmother, my mother, my sister, my niece and way too many women I know and love have all been diagnosed, so when I tell you I keep abreast of this subject, you'll know I'm not just punning you.

And here's what I've discovered about the war on breast cancer that is crucial and has nothing to do with the color pink: Women should take command of their bodies and include thermograms as part of their breast health regimen.

You don't have to wait for your gynecologist or primary doctor to suggest it. Chances are, they know nothing about this continually improving imaging technology. It's had lousy PR ever since it was approved by the FDA in 1982. Maybe because it's simply not part of the billion-dollar cancer industry. Maybe if it had a color of its own.

Breast thermography — using a digital infrared camera — is safe, effective, involves no radiation or squishing of the breast, and is evolving as a super-important risk-assessment tool for the early detection of breast cancer.

And early detection is everything. "When treated in its earliest stages, most breast cancer has a cure rate of 95 percent," says Dr. Kathryn Ater, a doctor of Oriental medicine, who gave me my first, second and third thermograms over the last 4 years.

Her mission is simply stated on her Two Birds Thermography website: To help women take care of themselves.

"You are the one who decides when and how you're going to monitor your breast health," says Ater, who's been analyzing thermograms for more than 10 years. "Thermography is a tool. It's a piece of the puzzle that we can offer to help find abnormalities in the breast tissue before abnormal growth begins."

Mammograms — and I'm not going to get into all the pros and cons that have women so confused — are simply not useful for early detection.

"A cancer has been growing 8 to 10 years before it's big enough or dense enough to be detected by mammography," explains Sandra Fields, a certified clinical thermographer with a Master's in nursing and 35 years experience in women's health care. She's part of an expanding network of doctors, nurses, patients, and health experts who are spreading the good word about thermograms.

"Women need to know that breast thermography is a promising and safe technology that is a welcome addition to helping women create breast health," says another wise advocate, the best-selling Dr. Christiane Northrup.

The science is simple and makes sense to anyone with a breast or a brain: By the time a tumor is the size of a pinhead (after about two years of growing) it requires its own blood supply. The process of developing that blood supply is called angiogenesis. Thermography is the best technology for detecting angiogenesis because it detects abnormal activity in the breast — increased heat, blood flow or changing vascular patterns. All of these are early indicators that something suspicious is happening in the breast tissue and needs follow-up.

It's an easy, painless procedure that takes about 30 minutes. The patient stands naked from the waist up, turning in different directions while the technician clicks away, using a state-of-the-art infrared thermal camera.

I felt relieved when Ater went over my most recent thermogram with me. We both looked at the beautiful result, a Peter Max-like pattern of red, blue, green, yellow. It's worthy of framing.

"Looks good," are the words I remember. She compared the new one with the one from last year. No new vascular supply, no suspicious heat patterns, no new asymmetries.

"Nothings really changed," she said, and we both know that's very good news.

I'm not waiting for my insurance company to do the right thing. I pay the $199 out of pocket, and $50 dollars more for Ater's careful review of the results.

I'm not saying that thermograms can or should replace mammograms. It's a first line of defense and prevention, an excellent tool for early detection of a spreading blood supply, and it's not getting the good publicity it merits.

Where is Susan Komen when we need her?

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! EARLY DETECTION IS KEY

"Using thermography, we as patients can begin to take control of our own health using all the tools available to us." — Dr. Kathryn Ater