October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in here I explain how breast thermography can be used as a non-invasive assessment tool to determine a woman’s risk of future breast cancer.

Breast Thermography and Mammograms

A breast thermogram is preventative and a mammogram is corrective. Using a weather forecast analogy, a thermogram tells you what the  chance of rain is and if thunder clouds and lightning are developing or if over time the weather is getting better. A mammogram tells you how many inches it has already rained.

In other words, thermography looks at cancer risk and mammography identifies a problem after it has been there long enough to be visible. Thermography and mammography tell us different information about breast health.

Monitor Your Breast Health

One interesting characteristic of breast thermography is that it can be used as an ongoing monitor of breast health, like watching the sky for changes in weather. Typically, in my patients, the risk level may be changed by monitoring thermographic changes and making adjustments in the health program to promote healthy changes in the breasts. Thus a woman can, for example, start with a risk level of 4 (risk scale of 1-5) and after taking action to improve her breast health, she may often see the thermographic image improve to a risk level 3 or even 2. A woman starting out with a 1 or 2 is at very low risk and should consider simply continuing to do whatever she is doing since it (lifestyle?) is apparently working for her.

Thermography is Non-invasive and Painless

Thermography does not emit any radiation or x-rays and does not touch the body. It is 100% non-invasive. It simply takes an image produced by your body’s own heat and converts it into data that our eye can interpret easily.

It is important to work with a doctor knowledgeable in breast health improvement, and as with any health concern, these decisions are best made between you and your physician.