Thermography the Non-Toxic Alternative to Mammograms
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Breast Cancer Screening Using High-Resolution Digital Thermography
by Michael Bennett, Pharm. D.
Total Health magazine, Volume 22, No. 6
We have just completed October, declared by Komenites and the drug company AstraZeneca as the official Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To many women the whole year is of concern, however. The issue of breast screening with mammography has always been a controversial topic. New studies appear frequently that seem to add confusion to a busy woman’s choice for an accurate, non-toxic and unbiased method for breast cancer screening. Recently published, the Canadian National Breast Screening Study1 found that annual mammograms are no more effective in preventing breast cancer deaths among women age 50 to 59 than a through, detailed 10-minute breast exam given by a professional. The women were also taught breast self-examination (BSE). It has also recently been shown that if a good exam were coupled with high-quality digital thermography, the chance for finding cancers would be even greater.2
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE - THE PAST
Thermography, also called thermology, is a very old method for detecting heat patterns in breast tissue. Ray Lawson, M.D. first used thermography clinically in 1956.3 Many papers were published after this but will not be discussed here. Perhaps the height of excitement came in the 1980’s when more patient experiences and slightly better equipment added to the conviction of even radiologists (who generally prefer mammography) that thermography was a useful and non-toxic tool in the detection of breast cancer. Michel Gautherie, Ph.D. and Charles Gros, M.D., a radiologist, summarized their 12 year/58,000 patient clinical experience4 stating, “Thermography makes a significant contribution to the evaluation of patients suspected of having breast cancer. The obviously abnormal thermogram carries with it a high risk of cancer.” Another radiologist, Harold Isard, who was chairman emeritus, of the radiology department of the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, was also very impressed with thermography and wrote papers in support of this technology.5,6
Unfortunately there were many others who didn’t share the same enthusiasm. For example, the 1982 first edition7 textbook Mammography, Thermography, and Ultrasound in Breast Cancer Detection was name-changed to Breast Cancer Detection: Mammography and Other Methods in Breast Imaging in the 1987 second edition. The foreword section of the first edition stated, “Thermography was proved not to be effective in breast cancer detection in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Projects (BCDDP), and was discontinued after the second year of the five year program.” Many have criticized this 1970’s project and perhaps the best history and criticism appears in Keyserlingk’s report,8 where he calls BCDDP “ill-conceived and poorly controlled.” The political and economic forces (i.e., radiology groups) seemed to drive thermology into the dark with just a few small groups believing in the technology. After all, this method is a “do-no-harm” technology and offers women a safe method to help in the “early detection” of breast cancer.
THE TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION - NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
The improvement in computers and electronics has changed the face of modern medical thermography. In the old days (1980’s) they used contact thermography and low-resolution, film-based systems. Computerized systems were also available but the resolution was poor and therefore results were very subjective. Just in the past few years, several articles in medical electronic journals have been published on the medical use of thermography. No longer do we need to interpret the old film shots or Polaroid's of the ‘80’s. We now have systems and detector materials with very high resolution and temperature sensitivity. A computer algorithm processes the raw thermal data and paints a clearer picture. Sequential thermograms during a cold stress allow further refinement of the suspected areas and tests sympathetic function.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS
In September 1999 Alternative Medicine did a story on breast thermography. It was a big hit with women and they wanted to know where to get theirs. Unfortunately for them, the article listed many places that had some equipment but the people at these places were not set up nor specifically trained for breast thermography and offered no guarantee that one would get high-quality images or accurate interpretation. Someone must read, process and interpret the raw images in context with a specific situation. Obviously only trained health professionals should interpret the thermograms and give specific recommendations. There are, of course, the basics that need to be followed by the facility for a high-quality set of images to be obtained. The room must be kept around 70 degrees F, carpeted and with no drafts. There is a minimum cooling time of around five minutes for the subject to be completely exposed from the waist up. A cold stress challenge is an option and can be done with fans or cold water however, there are no studies comparing the two so using fans is more convenient for the subject and most preferred at this time. A recent study by experienced Japanese medical thermographers9 used electric fans for the cold stress and increased the diagnostic accuracy from 54 percent to 82 percent. Breast thermography using high-resolution digital imaging is here to stay and is considered by some experts to be the screening method of first choice.
Specific Centers Doing Breast Thermography in the United States:
CALIFORNIA
♥ Pink Image, 228 South Cedros Ave., Suite D, Solana Beach, CA 92075, (619) 886-5580, email: martin@mypinkimage.com
FLORIDA
♥ Alternative Medicine Center, Gary Snyder, DC, 1290 East Oakland Park Blvd #100, Fort Lauderdale (954) 486-4000
♥ DITI Florida www.DITIFlorida.com
State of the Art Clinical Imaging, Breast / Full Body / Region of Interest ~ No Radiation ~ No Contact / No Compression ~ No Side Effects or Risks
♥ Thermography of the Palm Beaches, 621 Northlake Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL (561) 881-4321
♥ Spirit Mountain Thermal Imaging, 21400 W. Dixie Hwy., Aventura, FL (305) 933-2360
GEORGIA
♥ Genesis Health Center, Cumming, GA (678) 947-4454
IOWA
♥ Radiant Health Imaging ~ for digital infrared thermal imaging - Fairfield/Coralville/Des Moines, toll-free 866-240-9659 www.radianthealthimaging.com info@radianthealthimaging.com
LOUISIANA
♥ Elliot Mastology Center, Baton Rouge, LA (225) 927-3181
MICHIGAN
♥ Thermascan, 26711 Woodward Av., Huntington Woods Michigan 48070 (248) 544 7500 - Dr. Philip Hoekstra
NEW YORK
♥ Dr. Dekel, MD, board certified OB-GYN and breast thermography, practicing at 166 Elaine Drive, Oceanside, NY 11572 cell: 516-817-1770 www.drdekel.com
NORTH CAROLINA
♥ Advanced Thermal Imaging, 8351 Standonshire Way, Suite 101, Raleigh, NC (919) 846-2239 www.advancedhealthcaresolutions.org
♥ Asheville Integrative Medicine, 832 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 252-5545 www.docbiddle.com
♥ The Asheville, NC Great Smokies Medical Center also has a very nice website: www.gsmcweb.com
♥ Great Smokies Medical Center of Asheville, 1312 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28806 (828) 252-9833 GreatSMC@aol.com
OHIO
♥ Functional Imaging, Ltd. - Lancaster: 3025 Lancaster-Circleville Road, Lancaster, OH 43130, Phone: (740) 689-2466 ● Columbus: 4488 Mobile Drive, Columbus, OH 43220, Phone: (614) 472-2466 ● Medina: Balance of Life Clinic, 3985 Medina Road, Suite 250, Medina, OH 44256, Phone: (740) 689-2466
♥ OsteoMed II, 7271 Engle Road, Suite 115, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130, Phone: (440) 239-3438 http://osteomed2.com/TheHealthyBreastProgram.html
♥ Celebration of Health Center, 122 Thurman Street, Bluffton, Ohio 45817, G. Terry Chappell, M.D. Phone: (419) 358-4627
PENNSYLVANIA
♥ Haber Chiropractic Center, Monroeville, PA (412) 372-7900
♥ Three Rivers Thermography (located at Therapeutic Alternatives, Dr. Val Donaldson, MD) 3447 Harts Run Road, Glenshaw, PA 15116 - (412) 526-8007 or (412) 860-5423
♥ Westmoreland Thermographics, 1901 Ligonier St., Latrobe, Pa. (866) 537 7122
SOUTH CAROLINA
♥ The Charleston, SC Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine has a great website: www.earlycancerdetection.com
♥ Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Charleston Health Partners, 7499/7510 Northforest Drive, North Charleston, SC 29420 (843) 572-1600 info@earlycancerdetection.com
TEXAS
♥ Optimal Thermal Imaging, Dallas, TX 1-888-641-2547
♥ Natural Solutions Network, Dr. Eliezer Ben-Joseph, ND, MD, 7040 N. Mesa Street, El Paso, TX 79912 (915) 833-9999
VIRGINIA
♥ Integrative Longevity Institute of VA, 5041 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 Phone: (757) 226-8880 info@infaneeta.com
WASHINGTON D.C.
♥ Dr. Bruce Rind at NIHA on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, DC. Phone: (202) 237-7000.
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Specific Centers Doing Breast Thermography International:
AUSTRALIA
♥ Perth - Boyd Breast Health Monitor, Unit 2/636 Stirling Hwy. (PO Box 245) Mosman Park WA 6012. Email boydbreasthealth@amnet.net.au Phone Australia (61) 8 9385 0938, Dr. Alexandra Boyd, MBBS, FRACGP, MScCTM, (Lon) fax: 08 938 50 939
CANADA
♥ John Keyserlingk, MD, FACS, 1538 rue Sherbrooke ouest, Suite 1001, Montreal, QC H3G 1I5, Canada
♥ North York Medical Thermography Centre, 3910 Bathurst Street, Suite 202, Toronto, Ontario M3H 3N8
♥ Ville Marie Women’s Health Center, Montreal, Canada (514) 933-2778
♥ Kulhay Wellness Clinic & Educational Centres, 72 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, ON M4V 1M7 , Phone: (416) 961-1900 Fax: (416) 961-9578, email: info@kulhaywellness.net
PORTUGAL
♥ We are specialists on thermography in Portugal please consult the web http://bioaroma-valdez.planetaclix.pt click on UK flag and use the Alta Vista translator, then see diagnosis thermography clinical cases. José Valdez
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If you know of other centers that perform Thermography please email me with their name, phone number and address.
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References:
1. Miller, A.B., et al. Canadian National Breast Screening Study-2: 13-Year Results of a Randomized Trial in Women Aged 50-59 Years. J Natl Cancer Inst (2000). Vol. 92 pp. 1490-9.
2. Keyserlingk, J. R., et al. Functional Infrared Imaging of the Breast. IEEE Eng Med Biol Magazine (2000). Bol. 19(3) pp. 30-41.
3. Bassett, L. W. and Gold, R. H. Mammography, Thermography, and Ultrasound in Breast Cancer Detection. (1982). New York. Grune and Stratton.
4. Gautherie, M. and Gros, C. M. “Breast Thermography, and Cancer Risk Prediction,” Cancer (1980). Vol. 45 pp. 51-6.
5. Isard, H. J. “Other Imaging Techniques,” Cancer (1984). Vol. 53 pp. 658-64.
6. Isard, H. J. “Thermography ‘Edge Sign’ in Breast Carcinoma,” Cancer (1972). Vol. 30 pp. 957-63.
7. Bassett, ibid.
8. Keyserlingk, ibid.
9 Ohashi, Y. and Uchida, I. “Applying Dynamic Thermography in the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer,” IEEE Eng Med Biol Magazine (2000). Vol. 19(3) pp. 42-51.
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