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 The earliest possible indication of abnormalities allows for the earliest possible intervention.
Thermography detects the physiologic changes in the breast tissue that have been shown to correlate with cancerous or pre-cancerous states. It is widely acknowledged that cancers, even in their earliest stages need nutrients to maintain or accelerate their growth. In order to facilitate this process blood vessels are caused to remain open, inactive blood vessels are activated and new ones are formed, a process known as neoangiogenisis. This vascular process causes an increase in surface temperature in the affected regions which can be viewed with infrared imaging cameras. Additionally the newly formed or activated blood vessels have a distinct appearance which thermography can detect.
Thermography is a physiologic test which can demonstrate the aforementioned changes. As such it cannot identify tumors. It provides the clinician with extremely useful information regarding areas of abnormality which can be examined clinically and with anatomic tests. Since thermal imaging detects at the cellular level, studies suggest that this test can detect activity eight to ten years BEFORE any other test. This makes it unique in that it affords us the opportunity to view changes before the actual formation of the tumor. Studies have shown that by the time a tumor has grown to sufficient size to be detectable by physical examination or mammography, it has in fact been growing for several years achieving more than twenty-five doublings of the malignant cell colony.
 According to the 1998 Merck Manual, for every case of breast cancer diagnosed each year five to ten women will needlessly undergo a painful breast biopsy. Statistically therefore each women who undergoes annual screening mammograms for ten years has at least a fifty percent chance of undergoing a breast biopsy. Breast thermography has been researched for over forty years with a data base of over 1/4 million women. There are over 800 peer-reviewed thermographic studies. This research has concluded that a persistently abnormal themogram is consistent with a 22 fold increase in the risk of developing breast cancer. Because of the safety inherent in the test, thermography can be performed on an individual of any age, including those who are pregnant or breast feeding.
Thermography is unaffected by breast density, implants or scars from surgery. It allows for the avoidance of potentially harmful radiation, a known carcinogen. Radiation from routine mammograms poses significant cumulative risk of initiating and promoting breast cancer (1-3) . In fact a mammogram results in 1000 fold greater radiation exposure than a chest x-ray(2). Additionally each rad (radiation absorbed dose) of exposure increases breast cancer risk by one percent annually (4), an extremely worrisome statistic for premenopausal women whose breasts are more sensitive to radiation. The risks are even greater for younger women subject to baseline screening for which there is no evidence of future relevance.
Breast thermography is non-contact test. Conversely, mammography involves placing the breast between two plates and subjecting the breast to painful compression. The recommended force to be used for the compression of breast tissue in a mammogram is 300 Newtons, the equivalent of placing a fifty pound weight on the breast. In an article written in 1928(7) physicians were warned to handle "cancerous breast with care - for fear of accidentally disseminating cells and spreading cancer." In 1992 (8) an opinion was offered that such compression might lead to distant and lethal spread of malignant cells by rupturing small blood vessels in or around small, as yet undetected breast cancers.
In 1995, the Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal, reported that "since mammographic screening was introduced in 1983, the incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ "DCIS", which represents 12% of all breast cancer cases, has increased by 328% and 200% of this increase is due to the use of mammography.
Thermography has been determined to have an average sensitivity and specificity of 90% and when used as part of a comprehensive multi faceted approach can lead to early detection of 95% of early stage cancers. This increases the long term survival rate by as much as 60%.
Guidelines to healthier breasts
Most of what's written about breast cancer concerns its treatment while painfully little information is made available regarding its prevention. We firmly believe in the correlation between diet and nutrition and breast cancer and our research has shown that most experts agree.
As noted by Christine Horner, MD in Waking the Warrior Goddess, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." Thousands of years before Hippocrates, Ayurveda stated "Food should be the first medicine you take because without a proper diet, no medicine will work; with a proper diet, no medicine is necessary." The ancient Chinese offered, "He who takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the skill of the physician."
Dr. Horner offers the following guidelines:
Eat fresh organically grown fruits and vegetables every day. Organic produce is grown without harmful, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers or genetic modifications. These should include cruciferous vegetables which are high in indole-3 carbinol, sulforaphane and D-glucaric acid. These nutrients force the breakdown of estrogen into a protective, non-cancer-promoting type of estrogen, thereby reducing the risk of breast cancer by 40%. You can also receive the benefits of cruciferous vegetables by taking DIM (Diindolylmethane) a stable byproduct of indole-3 carbinol.
Eat organic whole grains every day as they are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, trace minerals, fiber and lignans. Women who eat a high fiber diet have a 54% lower risk of breast cancer.
Avoid trans fats, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats. Consume good fats like Omega 3 fatty acids (found in organic flax seeds - grind fresh daily to avoid oxidation and consume 2 - 3 tblsps. a day) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Flax seeds are one of the best breast cancer fighting foods. High fat diets may increase your risk of breast cancer by 50%, while women with breast cancer who have high omega 3 fatty acid levels have a 50% lower incidence of metastasis.
Eat soy based whole food products several times a week. Natto, tofu, tempeh, fresh cooked soybeans or miso are all good sources. These have been shown to reduce risk of breast cancer by 30 to 50%.
Eat maitaki mushrooms which have been shown to stop or stunt tumor growth while preventing metastasis.
Drink organic green tea everyday as this is considered the number one anticancer beverage. It has been shown to stunt tumor growth and reduce metastasis.
Eat tumeric, the number one anticancer spice daily. Tumeric is 300 times more powerful than vitamin E as an antioxidant and enhances the anticancer effects of green tea and soy.
Eat garlic several times a week. Garlic has more antioxidants than any other vegetable and reduces the formation of carcinogens in breast tissue by 50-70%.
Take a whole food vitamin, selenium and CoQ10 daily.
Do not eat red meat. Women who eat the most red meat have a 88 - 330% greater risk of breast cancer. Red meat is loaded with pesticides, antibiotics, hormones (estrogens), growth stimulators and insulin-like growth factor-1, which is an extremely high stimulator for breast cancer, perhaps the highest one. Also, environmental toxins are stored in animal fat and when consumed act like estrogens causing a much higher risk of breast cancer.
Avoid eating refined sugar as it is the favorite food of tumors. Refined sugars elevate insulin levels thereby promoting breast cancer not to mention diabetes and obesity. Obesity is responsible for 20 - 30% of all postmenapausal breast cancers. Additionally insulin causes cancer cells to divide and grow faster. Statistically, elevated insulin levels can increase risk of breast cancer by more than 250%. You should also avoid NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet N Low, etc. Instead use natural sweeteners such as stevia and xylitol which not only taste good but are good for you.
No smoking and little or no alcohol.
Discuss the risk versus benefit ratio of birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy with your doctor since these drugs have been shown to significantly increase the risk of breast cancer.
Avoid toxic products in your home and work environment and minimize your exposure to electromagnetic fields.
Detox your body a couple of times a year. Practice stress relief; yoga, deep breathing, meditation. Take quality time for yourself each day.
Get adequate sleep, preferably going to bed by 10:00pm. This will maximize melatonin levels. Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant which can deter or improve your chances of survival from breast cancer.
In addition to the above we offer the following recommendations:
Do a self breast exam (SBE) once a week. Statistics have shown that more breast cancers are found on SBE than by mammography. Another benefit of SBE is increased blood and lymphatic supply to the breast.
Avoid deodorants and antiperspirants containing aluminum. The problem is two fold; the aluminum is absorbed through the skin and antiperspirants stop the body from perspiring which is the body's way of releasing toxins.
Avoid underwire bras or bras that are to tight or that compress the breasts. These may restrict blood flow and/or damage delicate breast tissue. Also the underwires act as a magnet for electromagnetic rays.
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