Did you know that by the time your Mammogram locates cancer, it has been growing in your body for at about 8 years?
Last month was Breast Cancer Awareness month. Throughout the month there was much talk about the need for self-breast exams and Mammograms. Unfortunately I heard nothing about breast tissue health.
Did you know that we all (men and woman) have much we can do to foster tissue/cell health? Did you know that the environment we live in affects our health and the environment our cells live in affects their health?
So wouldn’t it be nice if we were educated on prevention instead of just finding the disease after it has spread to a chronic level? I am lucky enough that this is my profession and feel I know how to foster a healthy environment in my life and in the life of my cells. I mirror this knowing and empowerment to my children.
“Yet when we live in a culture of pills and cut out the illness after it grows, I am reminded of the paradigm change needed in our health care system.”
The article below by Dr. Chrintine Northrup, MD speaks to me and my empowerment on this issue.
WHAT WE ALL NEED!
1. You can learn to be so aware that you can energetically identify illness in your Auric Energy field-before it reaches the physical level. It is much easier to heal an illness before it manifests in the body.
2. Get a thermogram. It is a non-invasive procedure that uses heat to identify the health of your tissues. I is not covered by most insurance carriers but it is a very cost effective self-assessment. The higher temptures in our body can highlight potential disease process.
3. Let your inner knowing guide you. It can design your health, exercise and eating plan. Right now take 5 min. to center yourself. Put pen, computer, or tape recorder in front of you. Connect into your core wholeness and imaging connecting to the inner knowing voice. Breath and feel sensations/flows/joy in the body. Then ask yourself the following questions.
“What am I doing to support my health?
“What do I currently (eat, exercise, think, believe, feel) that supports me?”
“What about my sleep patterns can I continue that supports me.”
“How do I continue doing more of what supports me?”
“What do I need to change so I support tissue/cell health.”
Below is the re-print of Dr. Christiane Northrup’s arcticle.
EVERY YEAR WHEN BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH (October) comes around I am saddened and surprised that thermography hasn’t become more popular. Part of this is my mindset. I’d rather focus on breast health and ways to prevent breast cancer
at the cellular level than put the emphasis on testing and retesting until you finally do find something to poke, prod, cut out, or radiate. I understand that mammography has been the gold standard for years. Doctors are the most familiar with this test, and many believe that a mammogram is the best test for detecting breast cancer early. But it’s not. Studies show that a thermogram identifies precancerous or cancerous cells earlier, produces unambiguous results (which cuts down on additional testing), and doesn’t hurt the body. Isn’t this what women really want?
I recently discussed thermography with my colleague Philip Getson, D.O. Dr. Getson has been a medical thermographer since 1982. As you may know, thermography is a form of thermal (infrared) imaging. Dr. Getson explains how thermography works this way, “It is widely acknowledged that cancers, even in their earliest stages, need nutrients to maintain or
accelerate their growth. In order to facilitate this process, blood vessels are caused to remain open, inactive blood vessels are activated, and new ones are formed through a process known as neoangiogenesis. This vascular process causes an increase in surface temperature in the
affected regions, which can be viewed with infrared imaging cameras.
Additionally, the newly formed or activated blood vessels have a distinct appearance, which thermography can detect.” Heat is an indication that inflammation exists, and typically inflammation is present in precancerous and cancerous cells, too. (It’s also present in torn muscles and ligaments as well as arthritic joints, which thermography can also detect.) Thermography’s accuracy and reliability is remarkable, too.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, a great deal of research was conducted on thermography. In 1981, Michel Gautherie, Ph.D.,and his colleagues reported on a ten-year study, which found that an abnormal thermogram was ten times more significant as a future risk indicator for breast cancer than having a history of breast cancer in your family.
Early Detection
The most promising aspect of thermography is its ability to spot anomalies years before mammography. Using the same ten-year study data, researcher Dr. Getson adds, “Since thermal imaging detects changes at the cellular level, studies suggest that this test can detect
activity eight to ten years before any other test. This makes it unique in that it affords us the opportunity to view changes before the actual formation of the tumor. Studies have shown that by the time a tumor has grown to sufficient size to be detectable by physical examination
or mammography, it has in fact been growing for about seven years achieving more than twenty-five doublings of the malignant cell colony.
At 90 days there are two cells, at one year there are16 cells, and at five years there are 1,048,576 cells—an amount that is still undetectable by a mammogram. (At 8 years, there are almost 4 billion cells.)” Today, women are encouraged to get a mammogram, so they can find their breast cancer as early as possible. With thermography as your regular screening tool, it’s likely that you would have the opportunity to make adjustments to your diet, beliefs, and lifestyle to
transform your cells before they became cancerous. Talk about true prevention.
Clearer Results, Fewer Additional Tests
It seems like the world was set on it’s ear when, in November 2009, the United States Preventative Services Task Force said it recommended that women begin regular mammograms at 50 instead of 40 and that mammograms are needed every two years instead of annually between the ages of 50 and 74. Some women felt this was a way for the insurance
companies to save money, but I cheered these new guidelines. (For more information read
“The New Mammography Guidelines.”) The Task Force concluded that the risk of additional and unnecessary testing far outweighed the benefits of annual mammograms—and I couldn’t agree more. Ten years ago, Danish researchers Ole Olsen and Peter Gotzsche concluded, after
analyzing data from seven studies, that mammograms often led to needless treatments and were linked to a 20 percent increase in mastectomies, many of which were unnecessary. Dr.Getson expounded, “According to the 1998 Merck Manual, for every case of breast cancer
diagnosed each year, five to ten women will undergo a painful breast biopsy. This means that if a woman has an annual mammogram for ten years, she has a 50 percent chance of having a breast biopsy.”
Thermography is a particularly good choice for younger breasts, which tend to be denser. It doesn’t identify fibrocystic tissue, breast implants, or scars as needing further investigation. It’s also good at detecting changes in the cells in the arm pit area, an area that mammography isn’t always good at screening. Perhaps even more exciting is that a thermogram can help a woman diagnosed with ductal carconoma in situ (DCIS) decide, along with her health practitioners, whether she requires aggressive or conservative treatment. If you’ve ever had an unnecessary biopsy or been scared by a false positive result on a mammogram, please consider getting a thermogram and using it in conjunction with the mammogram to figure out your treatment options.
It Doesn’t Hurt
It’s ironic that the test women are using for prevention may be causing the very problem they’re trying to avoid in the first place! Another reason the United States Preventative Services Task Force reversed its aggressive mammogram guidelines was because of the exposure to radiation. It’s well known that excessive doses of radiation can increase your risk of cancer. And this doesn’t even touch on the harm done to the body from unnecessary biopsies, lumpectomies, mastectomies, chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and so forth.
Thermography is very safe—it’s even safe for pregnant and nursing women! It’s merely an image of the heat of your body. Unlike a mammogram, a thermogram doesn’t hurt! Just about everyone who’s ever had a mammogram has complained about how painful it is. The first time you get a mammogram can be quite a shock. Who knew a breast could be flattened like that? Well, the pain isn’t in your imagination. The pressure that the mammogram machine puts on each breast when it’s being compressed is equivalent to putting a 50 pound weight on your breast.
The Best Test for You
As with anything, I suggest you let your inner guidance help you in all decisions about your health. If you feel it’s best to get an annual mammogram, then by all means continue with them. Just be aware of the drawbacks and risks associated with the test. One helpful way to
assess your risk for breast cancer—which in turn can help you decide how often you want to have mammograms—is to use the National Cancer Institute’s Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool, available online at www.cancer.gov/bcrisktool. After you answer seven simple
questions, it calculates both your risk of getting invasive breast cancer in the next five years as well as your lifetime risk, and it compares each to the risk for the average U.S. woman of
the same age and race or ethnicity.
You would be surprised by how many women tell me their doctors make them feel guilty for not having a mammogram. Women who just know they have healthy breasts. Don’t be intimidated if you prefer to forgo annual mammography. Thermography is a better technology for all the reasons I’ve already described. Plus it gives results that are unique to you, time after time. But there are some things to be wary of.
Dr. Getson explains, “To be sure, not all thermographic equipment is the same, nor is every center backed by qualified, board-certified physicians who are specifically trained in the interpretation of these images.”
Women (and men) seeking to have infrared imaging should consider the following:
1. What is the “drift factor” in the apparatus? Anything over 0.2 degrees centigrade leads to poor reproducibility.
2. What are the credentials of the interpreting physician?
3. The room in which the study is performed should be free of outside light and the temperature should always be at 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit, with a proper cooling system in place.
4. Make sure the images are “stat”-ed or marked up for future comparison.
5. Ask if the studies are read on site or sent by e-mail to a distant interpreter.
6. Be sure that the physician is available to explain and discuss all findings. Instead of just screening for breast cancer, a thermogram can tell you how healthy your breasts are. It also has the potential to truly detect breast cell anomalies long before mammography can detect cancer, when done properly. This allows you to implement lifestyle
changes that can improve the health of your breasts proactively instead of waiting for a cancer diagnosis later. In honor of Breast Health Awareness month, I encourage you to check
out thermography for yourself and your loved ones.
LEARN MORE | RECOMMENDED READING
Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, by Christiane Northrup, M.D.
REFERENCES
1. M. Gautherie and C. M. Gros, “Breast Thermography and Cancer Risk Prediction,” Cancer,
vol. 45, no. 1 (January 1, 1980), pp. 51–56.
2. H. Spitalier et al., “Does Infrared Thermography Truly Have a Role in Present-Day Breast
Cancer Management?” in M. Gautherie and E. Albert, eds., Biomedical Thermology:
Proceedings of an International Symposium (New York: A. R. Liss, 1982), pp. 269–78; R.
Amalric et al., “Does Infrared Thermography Truly Have a Role in Present-Day Breast Cancer
Management?” Progress in Clinical and Biological Research, vol. 107 (1982), pp. 269–78.
3. Gotzsche, P. and Olsen, O., “Is Screening for Breast Cancer with Mammography Justifiable?”
The Lancet, vol. 355, no. 9198 (Jan. 8, 2000), pp. 129–34; Gotzsche, P. and Olsen, O.,
Cochrane Review on Screening for Breast Cancer with Mammography, The Lancet, vol. 358,
no. 9290 (Oct. 20, 2001), pp. 1340–42.
4. Semelka, R., Imaging X-rays cause cancer: a call to action for caregivers and patients,
Medscape, Feb. 13, 2006, reviewed and renewed Feb. 16, 2007.
Last updated: September 29, 2010
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