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Suite G
Clemmons, NC 27012
336-778-1950
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| | | From the Desk of Dr. Campbell: Many women have fear and loathing about X-Ray Mammograms. They are painful to many, impersonal for most, and a radiation risk to all. Now there is a good alternative to X-Ray Mammograms - Infrared (IR)Thermography. But how does this screening method hold up to X-Ray or even the new Breast MRI test? New research is giving us some good data on this question.
In detecting breast cancer early when it has the best chance of cure, the SENSITIVITY of a test is most important. On imaging 7319 women with very early cancer, a study from Germany showed X-Ray Mammography to be only 56% sensitive (Kuhl CK et al. Lancet 2007 Aug 11; 370:485). A separate study showed only a 36% sensitivity for X-Ray mammography (Warner E et al., JAMA. 2004 Sep 15;292(11):1317-25). Compare this to a recent study from the USA which showed Breast Thermography to be 97% sensitive (Arora N et al., Am J Surg. 2008 Oct;196(4):523-6).
Breast MRI showed a sensitivity of 92-98% in the study by Kuhl and 77% in the study by Warner, which is much better than X-Ray Mammography and about equal to IR Thermography. But MRI is very expensive, is difficult for those with claustrophobia, and often requires the intravenous injection of contrast agents. Nevertheless, Breast MRI is being strongly advised by radiologists for those women with a high genetic risk for breast cancer.
So why are these radiologists not advising breast screening by IR Thermography? The main reason is that they have invested billions of dollars in the past 40 years in mammography and MRI equipment and training, and they want their investment to pay off. They are therefore afraid of competition from a new imaging test that has been developed by another specialty - Biomedical Engineering. This is an unfounded fear, however, as anyone with an abnormal IR Thermogram should be referred for confirmatory X-Ray Mammogram, Ultrasound, and maybe Breast MRI. The radiologists have even gone so far as to lobby the AMA to delete Thermography from the list of Clinical Procedures (CPT) in 2008, thus depriving women of insurance coverage for what could be a lifesaving thermogram.
We at Integrative life Solutions are pleased and proud to buck the system and provide the women of the Triad with Breast Thermography done with proper technique including good preparation and thermal cool-down for the best diagnostic images possible. As there is no radiation involved, young women can get Breast Thermography without fear. A "baseline" image around age 22 is recommended, with follow-up scans at yearly intervals or sooner for those with strong family history of breast cancer. We'll talk more about thermography in future letters.
Here's hoping for health and wellness for all,
Doctor Jim
James S. Campbell, MD.
P.S: Breast Thermography works in MEN, too. If you guys discover a
lump in your breast, have it checked out. - JC, MD
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| | From the Desk of Dr. Campbell:
Thermal Diagnosis - it's been around for centuries...
For several evenings recently, my wife and I watched the very fine historical documentary on President John Adams produced by HBO. One of the seven episodes included his daughter's fight with breast cancer. Mr. Adams had the famous Dr. Benjamin Rush examine her, and she told the doctor that she had a hot lump in her breast. In those days of no central heat, she had noted by herself that one breast was warmer than the other. Dr. Rush understood the gravity of the situation and performed a total breast removal with no anesthesia, alas to no avail. The president's daughter died later when the cancer returned.
So how does this apply to health and diagnosis in this modern world? In my experience with thermography, I sometimes include a standard manual breast examination after the thermography images are taken. (Doing a manual exam before the thermography might distort the image findings). These exams have shown me that the 2 to 4 degree Fahrenheit rise in breast temperature caused by an underlying cancer can easily be detected by a manual exam done properly. Like President Adam's daughter experienced, the affected breast feels warmer than the other breast.
If you have been following the medical news recently, you might have heard that breast self-exams are said to be worthless for cancer detection. That may be true if detection of lumps is the only sign to watch out for, but my experience tells me that if a woman (or man) detects a warm, non-painful area of the breast under the proper conditions, cancer should be suspected and further testing done. Any painful area is more likely to be infection than cancer, but infection can also become a large problem, so have any warm area checked out further by a professional practitioner.
To do this "thermal breast self-exam" (T-BSE), you must disrobe from the waist up for 15 minutes at a room temperature of 68 to 70 Fahrenheit. Humidity should be 60% or less. You may be standing, sitting, or lying down. Do not touch your breasts during these 15-minutes of time. After this "cool-down" period, gently check the surface temperature of each breast using the palm of ONE hand. Go from one breast to the other quickly, pressing gently to detect the temperature difference. Healthy breasts should have almost the same temperature from side to side. Use just one hand for this exam - attempting to detect a temperature difference by placing one hand on one breast and the other hand on the other breast will not work. Certainly if there is a painless lump associated with any area of warmth, your suspicion of cancer should be doubled.
Should you detect a lump or temperature difference in your breast, further diagnostic "workup" is recommended. We here at the Thermography Service can perform thermal imaging under controlled temperature conditions to confirm and quantify any thermal abnormalities, and advise you on to how to proceed. Or see your local physician or practitioner right away, but don't be surprised if they do not know about heat being associated with breast cancer. The diagnostic clues known back in the days of Dr. Rush have somehow been forgotten - until now. In health,
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