What is Thermography and Is It Right for You or the Ladies in Your Life?
(This is not a picture of me, but it is a picture I took of a button I got. This is the upper left armpit.)
Healthy living requires proactively taking care of your health. This is not one of our normal posts, but with Breast Cancer Awareness Month coming to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you my experiences with thermography since it’s fresh. I just had my second thermograph two days ago. In addition to my exam, yesterday October 30th, was the anniversary of my mom’s passing sixteen years ago from breast cancer. She was young (in her late thirties) when she first discovered breast cancer (my current age-so you can see why I started getting routine mammograms at the age of thirty-four…when I wasn’t pregnant or nursing so breast tissue can return to its normal state). She underwent successful cancer surgery at the time, and we all moved on with life. Then it returned twelve years later, metastasized, and took her life within five months of the second diagnosis at the age of fifty (you can read more about it here–Confessions of a Selfish Daughter, Cancer…). I was 22 when her soul left this world. I was thankful that she at least got to meet Jonathan, my future husband at the time, although, I am sad she never got to enjoy her five amazing grandkids.
Anyway, I have already had about five mammograms. With my first mammogram they found something, so I had to go in again to the Women’s Center and have another one. Scary, knowing that my mom was so young when she first discovered her cancer. My thoughts vacillated quickly between, “God’s in control,” and “What if…?” Well it ended up being some calcifications. From there I had a mammogram every six months for two years. They cleared me to dial it back to annual mammograms. Last January I went to have my annual mammogram, and they told me if they found anything unusual, they would have to send me to the Women’s Center. I told them they would find something, and so I left, avoiding a double mammogram this past January. Instead my friend was talking about thermography, and how much safer it was, so I decided to check it out.
What is thermography you may ask? Good question. And important. Thermography is infrared mammography. Basically the thermograph is a picture of body heat. So thermography takes the radiation out of the equation. In layman’s terms it compares your blood vessel constriction to identify abnormalities in breast tissue (source). It is deemed a safer alternative to the traditional X-ray mammogram. It can detect breast tissue changes up to eight years before a mass even forms. You may have heard about the controversy over the mammogram because of the radiation. There has been recent debate over women starting their mammograms at age fifty instead of age forty due to the radiation and potential cancer risk. Isn’t it ironic that the very thing that can save your life with early detection can also potentially cause cancer later on down the line? I am not saying that there isn’t a place for the traditional mammogram. I even talked to my thermography tech about this, and she agreed. It just doesn’t need to be the only way.
So I ended up having a thermograph this past February. Even though it’s FDA approved as a means for detection, insurance doesn’t cover it, so you have to pay out of pocket. At the Snohomish Naturopathic Clinic, it’s $225. For the month of October (aka, “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”) they’ve had a special the last few years of $150. So the frugal side of me came out and I called them to see if I had to wait an entire year between thermographs. I really didn’t want to wait 20 months for the next special, especially with my mom’s history (Her aunt, who is my great aunt, also had breast cancer; she’s still alive in her nineties! YAY!). They said it was safe to have. I have to tell you about the experience because it is so unique. I also want people to know that there is more out there than just the standard mammogram for breast cancer detection.
My Thermography Experience
- I sat in a room completely naked from the waste up. Your arms can’t even touch your body, so my hands were on my hips. This lasts twenty minutes so you can acclimate to the temperature of the room (the first time I had one, it was only fifteen minutes).
- The technician took three pictures, one to the left, one center, and one on the right (she didn’t even touch me~which is much different than the traditional, flatten-you-as-a-pancake mammogram).
- I submerged my hands in ice cold water for sixty seconds.
- The technician takes the same three pictures again. That’s it!
The whole process takes less than thirty minutes, and twenty of that is just the waiting part. With my other mammograms, I wish that were the case (I am sure it’s different for others). By two weeks the results should be in, and I will have an appointment or talk to my doctor. From my first thermography, I received a full report with pictures of the images. The reports are fascinating because it’s all about your own personal body.
I hope if you are in your twenties or older, male or female, especially if you carry your phone in your bra, you’ll at least do a self-examination. Any of you ladies over forty with cancer in your family history? PLEASE get some kind of mammogram. If you are interested in reading more about thermography, you can go here and see if it is right for you.
Go here to read Confessions of a Selfish Daughter, Cancer…
This post contains NO affiliate links.
Glad to read your blog – I just turned 33 and had my first thermogram yesterday after researching providers for a couple of months, and am waiting for the results, and wanted to read about other peoples’ personal experiences with thermography. I also have a family history of breast cancer, with first my mother’s mother, and then my mother first at age 49 and then again last year at age 63. I’m hoping that any possible issues can be caught early by thermography and corrected if necessary through diet and things like lymphatic breast massage. I didn’t get to see the reports yet other than what I could glimpse while it was being done, which seemed to show more vascularity in my right inner breast than the left, but I’ll get the report in a week or so once it’s reviewed by a doctor, who will go over the findings with me. Anxiously awaiting. I’ll go for a 6 month follow-up for a baseline regardless, and plan to start practicing lymphatic breast massage and incorporating flax seeds into my diet as both seem like helpful additions. My provider took 6 images – center, left, right, 3/4 view of each left and right, and then centered with me using two fingers two inches above my nipples to pull up my breasts to expose underneath some more. All the best.
Hi Hal. Good job getting on it early! It can be so hard to wait for those results…I know! Thank you for sharing, and God bless!
Thank you for talking about this! Sometimes “alternative” should not be taken to mean strange, weird, unusual, or sci-fi. And often that which is considered The Norm — should be questioned! We are talking about health, life, and the futures of our mothers, our daughters, and indeed our boobs. : ) Have always said that if male doctors were required to submit to yearly physicals which included having their delicate bits pressed between two glass plates and radiated, the practice of “mammography” would evolve radically.
Now researchers are raising questions about the safety, efficacy, and regular use (overuse) of mammography. Ultrasound and Thermography are two terrific options for women to consider as tools in monitoring their health. That and eating lots of greens, getting amazing sleep, loving family and friends unabashedly, and laughing whenever possible. Not to mention reading good books and great blogs like this one.
I have been flirting with the idea of going for thermography. Now, I will move it from maybe to go do it.
Thanks,
K
Hi Katherine. You are right in that the “norm” definitely needs to be questioned. I love that you include the good foods to eat, rest, love and laughter. All important parts of health! Sweet compliment. Thank you!
WOW! This is very timely as I was just speaking to my husband about looking into getting one of these done. I know of a clinic hear in Toronto Canada that offers a full-body thermograph test. Thank you for some insight on this alternative test. I’m all about being alternative even if it costs more than conventional assessments.
Hi Sabrina. I hear you about paying more if it’s alternative. I hope this helps you make a more informed decision. Thanks for sharing!