According to the researches in 2019, it has been totaled that about 30% of cancers diagnosed in women is breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most commonly cancer type detected in American women. Fortunately, breast cancer detecting techniques have been provided women with a chance to fight against this beast. But this probing question that which method is the best one to use and why is still unresolved. In this article, we will take a look at what breast cancer screening is and find the differences between two famous and popular breast screening techniques: Thermography and Mammography and find out which method is the best one to use.
Breast Cancer Screening
Breast cancer screening is an important factor in diagnosing breast cancer at an early stage before a person can display signs and symptoms of being sick. In breast cancer screening we use different screening methods (Mammography, Thermography or biopsy) to look into a person’s body and keep track of all the anomalies detected. Hence, we can have an early and promising treatment and healing.
Different types of screening methods
Since 1960s when there was a strong tendency to use computers in order to assist physicians in identifying the abnormal areas and having a second opinion besides the doctor’s detection, breast cancer screening methods have come a very long way. For a very long time, the best standard method was Mammography. Nowadays, other screening methods such as Thermography, biopsy, Ultrasound and etc. are introduced. In this article we will have a quick look at the differences between Mammography and Thermography and the benefits and drawbacks of using these methods in detecting breast cancer.
Mammography
Mammography is a breast cancer screening technique consisting of low-dose x-rays of the compressed breasts. Clinical organizations recommend having mammograms every year beginning at age 40. Before women can experience any signs of cancer such as lumps or tumors, mammography can diagnose it with self-examination. This method can also help women to find breast diseases such as a lump, pain or nipple discharge.
Benefits of getting Mammograms:
- Cancer detection long before display of any symptom
- Reducing the risk of dying from breast cancer by 19% overall
Drawbacks of getting Mammograms:
- Exposure to radiation
- Uncovering non-cancerous changes, resulting in false-positives
- Less accurate detection for women with dense breast tissue and breast implants
- Uncomfortable procedure, involving of breast compression
Thermography
Thermographies are thermal infrared images that are used to detect lesions in breasts. These Thermographies detect the temperature of the different regions of the breast. Regions with warmer temperature are more likely to contain tumors than normal tissue. Although thermal imaging is not definite and surroundings can affect its results but by using thermal images irregular thermal patterns that are not visible in normal mammograms can be easily recognized.
Benefits of Thermography:
- It is non-invasive and painless
- It is Non-radiative
- Capturing the entire body: detecting the heat and radiation coming from the body
- Getting a better sense of inflammation coming from teeth ( a hidden source of breast tissue abnormalities)
- Measuring the temperature changes
- Early detection up to 10 years before the cancer turns into a full-blown size
Drawbacks of Thermography:
- Another imaging technique is likely necessary after this procedure to further investigate.
Thermography can be particularly a very useful alternative tool for screening the breast cancer annually, because then you can compare the current examination with previous tests and if there is any difference then it is even a more powerful predictor. If you haven’t had your test yet, you can contact us at www.aitalos.com and there we provide you with all the necessary information about breast cancer Thermography.
