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Early detection is the biggest weapon in the fight against breast cancer
Breast cancer has not been out of the news in the last few years, with Kylie Minogue falling victim to the disease and, more recently, actress Dame Maggie Smith and TV presenter Trisha Goddard.
However, thousands of less famous women in the UK are also are diagnosed with breast cancer and 12,000 women die of the disease every year.
Of paramount importance in the fight against breast cancer is early detection. Among the methods for noting breast changes are
mammograms (regular screening, usually only for those over 50), self-examination, personal awareness and examination by health
professionals.
However, recently more women are choosing to also have digital infrared
thermal imaging, or DITI for short, which can offer the opportunity of earlier detection of breast disease.
Not yet available on the NHS, and therefore having to be paid for privately, this method is proving popular because it does not involve the radiation or discomfort of a mammogram.
It is especially of value to women aged from 30 to 50 years whose denser breast tissue can make mammography difficult and is a useful addition to anatomical tests.
DITI can detect subtle physiological changes in the breast. A camera scans the breasts, detecting the infrared rays emanating from the skin
surface, producing a thermal image on the computer screen.
Clusters of abnormal cells often have an increased blood supply and, where there is more blood flow, more heat can be seen in the area.
A positive infrared scan does not identify or diagnose cancer, but the area of heat may be suggestive of presence of many different breast abnormalities such as mastitis, benign tumours, fibrocystic breast disease and cancer.
DITI images consider the whole breast area and not just that which can be fitted between the compression plates of the mammography machine.
The scans are assessed by doctors and thermologists, who then report back on the need, if necessary, for further investigation.
All scans are kept on record, so that once a stable thermal pattern has been recorded future scans can be compared with the baseline and show any changes that have occurred in the interim period.
An abnormal breast thermography has the ability to warn women years before any other procedure that inflammation present could later become cancer. Digital Thermal Imaging is now available in Bedford. Contact Lynn Southwell at The Company Of Health on 01234 210818.
Also see www.meditherm.com/breasthealth
Call Donna at The Cottage Therapy Studio on 01234 838880 for allergy and intolerance analysis, wellness MOTs and menopause naturally consultations: www.scio-wellness.com
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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