Early detection of breast cancer may come to Breck monthly
BRECKENRIDGE - Jane, a 48-year-old Berthoud resident had a double mastectomy after a thermography scan showed evidence of cancer.
Her annual mammogram came out negative, but nine days later she got a thermography scan. When she took the thermography report to her Loveland doctor, he dismissed it as "voodoo medicine." She went to another doctor, who did a biopsy.
He recommended a mastectomy of the left breast, but the woman wanted a double mastectomy, based on thermography results of abnormalities in the right breast, as well as the left. The doctor agreed, and when he sent the tissue to pathology, he discovered the results perfectly matched the thermography scan; the left breast had three areas of stage three cancer, and the right breast had precancerous cells, said Front Range registered nurse Lynn Marshall.
"It's the earliest possible detection. Research shows it detects cancer five to eight years before a mammogram can," Marshall said.
Marshall will be in Breckenridge to introduce thermography to local health care practitioners Monday. If professionals from Sacred Tree or other health care offices show interest, she will offer thermography screenings in Summit County on a monthly basis. Sacred Tree coordinated the discussion and invited health care practitioners in order to bring Summit County's medical community together, said Allison McIntosh, wellness manager of Sacred Tree.
Thermography is noninvasive, pain-free and FDA approved.
"It's proven to detect cancer before it actually becomes breast disease," said Audrey Shaw, director of Sacred Tree. "It's become a valuable tool for women to bring to their doctors because it helps doctors be exact as to where to take the biopsy."
The theory behind thermography dates back to 400 B.C. when Hippocrates spread a thin layer of mud on patients; areas where the mud dried first due to heat release indicated problem areas.
In the early 1960s, a Canadian breast cancer specialist discovered that skin measured warmer over breast cancer than healthy areas. In 1982, the FDA approved thermography scans for breast cancer.
The technology works because when a tumor forms, it builds its own blood supply to feed it. This causes more heat.
Marshall's practice
Marshall uses a digital camera approved by the FDA in 2000. After the patient acclimates for about 20 minutes to a room 19-22 degrees Celsius, she takes six to eight pictures.
She sends the digital images to a group of board certified clinical thermologists, who read the scan and write a report.
While 95 percent of the screenings are used to detect breast cancer, she also uses it to detect the subtle physiologic changes that accompany fibrocystic disease, an infection or vascular disease.
For more information, visit
www.thermographyofcolorado.com.
How thermography works
Nurse Lynn Marshall uses a digital camera approved by the FDA in 2000. After the patient acclimates for about 20 minutes to a room 19-22 degrees Celsius, she takes six to eight pictures.
She sends the digital images to a group of board certified clinical thermologists, who read the scan and write a report.
While 95 percent of the screenings are used to detect breast cancer, she also uses it to detect the subtle physiologic changes that accompany fibrocystic disease, an infection or vascular disease.
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