Thermography for Breast Screening

The key to breast cancer survival is the earliest possible detection. If breast cancer is discovered in its earliest stages, 95% cure rates are possible. CLEAR Center of Health is dedicated to providing one of the most essential tests in breast cancer risk assessment and early detection: thermal digital imaging (DII) or breast thermography as part of a multi-faceted diagnostic approach to breast health.

Early detection of breast cancer saves lives.  Breast Thermography is an important part of CLEAR’s multimodality approach to breast health assessment (clinical examination + mammography + ultrasound + thermography). In addition to aiding early detection, thermography is one of the most helpful tools for primary prevention of breast cancer. Hormonal imbalances and precancerous tissue can show atypical thermal patterns that can be addressed with hormone balancing, natural medicine and lifestyle changes before cancer develops. These balancing protocols can be tracked and measured with repeated thermograms, correcting early issues that could lead to future breast cancer if left unchecked.

How does breast thermography work?

While mammography looks for shadows and calcifications associated with a breast cancer mass, breast thermography detects temperature changes from increased blood vessel circulation and metabolic changes associated with a tumor’s genesis and growth. These temperature changes are displayed as pictorial color images.

Thermography is based on the principle that metabolic activity and vascular circulation in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast cancer is almost always higher than in normal breast tissue. With their ever-increasing need for nutrients, cancerous tumors increase circulation to their cells by holding open existing blood vessels, opening dormant vessels, and creating new ones (neoangiogenesis). This process frequently results in an increase in regional surface temperatures of the breast.

Thermography uses ultra-sensitive medical infrared cameras and computers to detect, analyze, and produce high-resolution diagnostic images of these temperature variations. The procedure is painless, has no risk to the patient and takes only 15 minutes.