Breast Thermography.Org

Thermography is 8 to 10 years ahead of mammography?  Let?s get real?

William Cockburn, DC, FIACT

Fellow International Academy of Clinical Thermology

Fellow American College of Forensic Examiners

Academic Dean:  Academy of Medical Infrared Training

What's all this I keep reading about Thermography being 8-10 years earlier than mammography in detecting breast cancer?

That is an excellent question and one that really needs some attention.

Many unqualified or under trained thermographers make this claim in their advertising and as a defense against claims that mammography is better than thermography.

While there is a great deal of unfair prejudice against thermography, it is also true that many thermographers, some of them unwittingly, use this 8-10 year window incorrectly.

So what is the truth and how does this statement affect the decision making process to obtain or not obtain thermal imaging of your breasts.

Early research studies of breast thermography which were done in the 1980's and 1990's evaluated many aspects of breast thermography as a screening tool.  One study conducted by Dr William Hobbins, MD at the University of Wisconsin Medical Center concluded two interesting facts.

1)  Thermography had 10 times the yield as compared to a family history of breast cancer.   This is quite remarkable.  As family history is an undeniable risk factor for breast cancer development and is universally accepted by physicians one would think that a university study demonstrating 10 times the sensitivity for thermography would be accepted as valid.

2)  In many cases an isolated abnormal thermogram (this is a thermogram demonstrating suspicious findings not correlated by mammography) was followed for many years utilizing thermography for changes associated with cancer development.  In many of these cases, mammography and resulting biopsy was positive, as much as 8-10 years later in the exact area the thermogram predicted that a cancer might be present.

The claim that thermography IS 8-10 years ahead of mammography is a partial truth.  Thermography often is confirmed the same month it is performed.   Sometimes months later, and sometimes years later,

The fundamental truth is that a thermogram when positive has a much higher likelihood of predicting a breast cancer or precancerous condition even when the mammogram is negative.   We all know that it takes years for a cancer to become large enough and dense enough to block an x-ray beam.

Thermography reveals the heat signature of a developing or existing cancer, not the anatomy of that cancer.  As this occurs often years before the mammogram can confirm the medical profession considers the abnormal thermogram incorrectly to be a false positive.   Unfortunately this means that many patients do not change diet, lifestyle or modify other risk factors for developing cancer such as the use of dangerous cleaners or fertilizers in the home or workplace.

So what is the bottom line?  Thermography has the ability to show a different process of cancer in the overall evaluation of the human breast: both female and male.  This physiologic process can often be seen many years before a mammogram can detect the presence of the cancer.   Studies have shown that this process can sometimes be seen 8-10 years prior to a mammogram becoming positive.

This does not mean that all cancers can be seen with thermography and that not all cancers can be detected this early.  This is why it is important for people to be screened yearly with thermography.  The abandonment of mammography or ultrasound based on the 8-10 year window is not acceptable. 

Doctors and technicians are warned that the "8-10 years ahead of mammography" as a sales and marketing tool is to be abandoned and is considered dangerous and inflammatory.  At the least, the statement used out of context is certainly misleading.

William Cockburn, DC, FIACT, FABFE

Fellow International Academy of Clinical Thermology

Fellow American Board of Forensic Examiners

Academic Dean:  Academy of Medical Infrared Imaging