| MAMMOMOGRAPHY VS THERMOGRAPHY |
Since 1983 American women have been urged to undergo mammograms, some more frequently than
others. However, when it comes to radiation exposure, there is no safe level. The Department of Health
and Human Services in The Report on Carcinogens lists x-radiation and gammas radiation as “known
human carcinogens”. Breast cancer detection is crucial, but at what cost?
Each year over 180,000 women are diagnosed with and 44,000 will die from breast cancer.
In the 44-45 age groups of women, this is the leading cause of death. A Canadian study revealed that
mammograms did not have any positive effect on the mortality of women in this particular age group.
Compared to other cancers, breast cancer may be slow growing and take many years to develop. Giving
younger women yearly mammograms increases their cumulative radiation exposure and their risks of
developing cancer.
In some premenopasal women, there is an oncogene which makes them even more sensitive to the effects
of radiation. The Lancet, the British Medical Journal, reported that since the introduction of mammograms,
a particular cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ, increased by 328% and 200% of this was due to the use of
mammograms.
In the book, Politics of Cancer, Dr. Samuel S. Epstein stated that the risk of cancer increases 2% per x-ray.
This is especially alarming since yearly mammograms can consist of four to sixteen exposures depending
upon such factors as the density and shape of the breast. Based on only four x-rays, each breast is
exposed to an average of 250mr (millirem), a measurement of ionizing radiation, times two exposures per
breast, equates 1000mr or 1 rad (radiation absorbed dose).
To place this into proper prospective, the average person receives approximately 100 mr to the whole body
(not a specific organ) from naturally occurring, background radiation each year.
In other words, the damage to the body is less due to the lower exposure rate and because the radiation
exposure is spread over the entire body.
Besides the cumulative, radiation risks, some of the drawbacks to mammograms are pain, the compression
of a potential tumor and the false positives which arise and leads to undue stress and unnecessary
biopsies. There are many ways to prevent breast cancer to include, healthy eating/lifestyle habits, taking
supplements, elimination of toxins, limiting estrogen exposure, self/clinical examinations and noninvasive
procedures such as Thermography and Ultrasound.
Thermography works on the principal of heat using high definition, infrared technology.
Hippocrates, The Father of Medicine, wrote in 400BC, “In whatever part of the body heat or cold is felt, the
disease is there to be discovered”. Decades ago it was discovered that when a tumor is present over the
breast, it would measure warmer than healthy tissues. This is due to the tumor producing its own blood
supply to feed upon.
Since 1982, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has approved Thermography for breast cancer
screening. Why have most women not heard of this procedure? The procedure is simple and may be
performed in the physician’s office. The patient disrobes from the waist up and is conditioned to room
temperature for 15 minutes. Next, the patient’s hands are submerged into cold water for one minute and
the first set of images are taken. This is not a normal photograph of the breasts. Instead, it shows an
outline and color images that the trained professional can interpret.
Dr. Allan D. Lieberman, from the Center for Occupation and Environmental Medicine in North Charleston,
stated that “Thermography can detect physiological changes in breast tissue that have been shown to
correlate with the presence of cancer or precancerous states. Thermography can detect changes up to 10
years before a tumor develops and can be detected by a mammogram, thus allowing for early
intervention”. He also adds that “The procedure is painless, safe, effective, and may be used on younger
and pregnant women.”
Why should women, be exposed to years and years of x-rays, when other, FDA approved screening
techniques are available? Women should be made aware of and discuss with their health care provider, the
various breast cancer screening techniques that are available to them.
