Case Studies

Case Study #1

A patient writes:

I recently had my first breast thermogram, and am very grateful for doing so. I have had regularly scheduled mammograms, and have no personal or family history of breast cancer. About two years ago, however, I lost a dear friend to breast cancer. Unfortunately, her cancer was detected much too late.

Dr. Michelle Hodge, who is a certified thermographic technician and a good friend of mine, told me of how breast thermography can detect cancer and even pre-cancer earlier than other tests. Rather than procrastinate, I decided to take a pro-active role about my breast health and have a thermogram.

My thermogram showed increased thermal findings (heat) in the left breast as shown below:

Left Breast - TH4+

The image above shows increased heat, as shown in the orange, red, and white shaded areas on the left breast.

Left Breast - TH4+

This same image in black and white, displays signs of increased vascularity (angiogenesis) in the same region, compared to that of the right breast. A needle biopsy confirmed the presence of pre-cancerous cells or atypical hyperplasia.

It was recommended in Dr. Amalu's report to have a follow-up mammogram and an ultrasound, even if the mammogram was normal. In my case, the mammogram was normal, so I had an ultrasound. My doctor suggested that I also had a breast MRI, which also proved to be normal. My ultrasound, however, located a solid mass in the same area detected by the thermogram. Ultimately two tests showed nothing, and two required further work-up. In light of the thermogram findings, supported by those of the ultrasound, my doctor recommended a biopsy. Pre-cancerous cells were discovered, which were then removed by excisional biopsy.

Due to the early detection of my problem with thermography, I was not faced with the likelihood of radical treatment such as a mastectomy, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. The fact also remains that the problem would not have been discovered at all, without the addition of thermography to my mammogram.

I am thankful that my doctors were supportive of my decision to have breast thermography, and followed-up as recommended in my report. I also plan to continue to have breast thermography done as part of my regular breast health check-ups. Because thermography was so instrumental in finding my pre-cancerous condition, I have recommended it to my friends and my sister, who lives in Texas. She now has an appointment for her first breast thermogram at another certified infrared imaging center in her city.

I am sharing my story to let other women know about the importance of breast thermography. More of us need to be aware of this valuable imaging technique that I believe may have just saved my life.

Thank you for providing this vital service to women in Redding.

Lynn Belmer

Case Study #2

A patient taking prescription hormone replacement therapy for 37 years has begun to taper off her dosage under the supervision of her physician over the past two years. She chose to do this out of concern for potentially harmful side effects and a higher risk of breast cancer. The following image taken approximately one year ago shows a grade two vascular pattern, indicating an over-production of estrogen in the breast tissue. Notice the diameter of the blood vessels, which are white in this image.

Right Breast - TH5

Six months later, her follow-up thermogram shows an improvement in blood vessel findings as shown below. The blood vessels are smaller in diameter and cooler in temperature.

Right Breast - TH5

The most recent image shown below reveals no evidence of estrogen dominance, as seen just one year prior.

Right Breast - TH5

Case Study #3

A 42 year-old woman presented to our office with a palpable lump in the upper inner quadrant of her right breast, greatest at the 3 o'clock position and extending to 12 o'clock. She found this lump approximately four months previous, and it was determined to be suspicious upon a recent clinical breast exam.

Her thermogram revealed a large caliber, hyperthermic vascular asymmetry in the right breast, leading into the area of the mass. Hyperthermia was noted at the right 3 o'clock areolar/periareolar region and at the right nipple as shown below. Her thermogram was graded as a right breast TH3+ and a left breast TH3-.

Right Breast - TH3+

Right Breast - TH3+

The thermogram report recommended a follow-up mammogram and ultrasound, even if the mammogram was normal. The mammogram showed extensive calcifications in the right inner and lower breast quadrants, and the ultrasound revealed an abnormality from the 12 o'clock to the 3 o'clock region.

An ultrasound-guided core biopsy of the right breast resulted in a diagnosis of extensive high-grade ductal carcinoma. Microscopic examination of the right breast tissue also revealed invasive tumors. A right axillary sentinel node biopsy found one lymph node positive for metastatic carcinoma. This patient ultimately underwent a bilateral mastectomy. She was very grateful that thermography was the first step in finding the cancer. Her only regret is not having done so sooner, in hopes of catching the disease before it became invasive.

Case Study #5

Hopeful waiting, following only general recommendations. diet, exercise. lifestyle and routine mammograms just wasn't adequate assurance for me. Given that I had some significant risk factors, clinical findings, and knew of the alarming rate of breast cancer, an early detection technique in addition to annual mammograms made sense. With this in mind, I went to Redding Thermography as my health care provider recommended. Their center uses state-of-the-art, computerized non-invasive equipment, and the procedure is performed privately by an informative, personal, professional woman.

My baseline thermogram confirmed the clinical findings and was rated as a right TH3+ (strongly questionable) and a left TH1 (normal). Note in the images below, an asymmetrical star anarchy vascular pattern in the superior medial quadrant of the right breast , along with a hyperthermic signal at the areolar/periareolar region of the right breast.

R Breast TH3+ L Breast TH1	R Breast TH3+ L Breast TH1

A follow-up sonogram taken at a local breast specialist's office was performed along with a six-month follow-up thermogram, which remained questionable. The biopsy was fortunately negative.

R Breast - TH3+ L Breast - TH1	R Breast - TH3+ L Breast - TH1

A cure rate of 96% for early stage breast cancer is good, but it is empowering to be able to do something that could be preventative instead of "just hoping." I made some dietary changes, and worked on lowering my risk factors for breast cancer. Being proactive by becoming a vegetarian (modified), taking supplements that help with hormone balance, and decreasing my estrogen dosage has, in a little more than one year, changed the thermogram to a TH1 (normal) bilaterally.

Note in the images below, the resolution of the star anarchy vascular pattern along with improvements in hyperthermic findings.

R Breast TH1 - L Breast TH1	R Breast TH1 - L Breast TH1

The information that was both the inspiration and the guidelines for the changes I made are detailed in the book written by Christine Horner, MD, FACS. Her writing style is supportative and hopeful with explanations for the rationale and medical terminology, and it is substantiated by placebo-controlled traditional medicine studies.

Although there is a 10% rate of missed significant findings with thermography, having this forty-five minute , painless procedure that reveals changes five-to-ten years earlier, can be lifesaving. Increased peace of mind and reassurance are priceless.

Case Study #6

I consider myself to be active, with good eating habits, and a healthy lifestyle. I have no family history of breast cancer. I had my baseline mammogram at age 36. I expected to have a perfectly normal report. I was completely shocked at the results, never having any previous health issue. Magnified mammographic views were watchful for a finding at the far lateral 9 o'clock nipple line of the right breast. I began to research about detection of breast cancer and discovered that the accuracy of the mammogram for women at my age with dense breast tissue could be as low as 60%. I then became concerned that the limitations of the mammogram may prevent an early diagnosis. I was to be re-checked in six months.

No matter how I tried to prevent it, fear set in. I became more aware of assessing my breast symptoms, tenderness, swelling, etc. Even though I had read that breast cancer is not usually associated with pain, I became acutely aware of any breast symptom that I was experiencing. I often did have a great deal of breast tenderness and swelling , along with some occasional sharp pains in areas of both breasts. While waiting six months for a follow-up, I came across an article about medical infrared imaging, or thermography, as an adjunctive screening technique. I thought this could provide valuable information, since thermography is not hindered by breast tissue density. Why not use all of the tools out there to asses my breast health and/or identify a problem as early as possible?

I was extremely excited to have this procedure done to shed more light on my situation. Knowing that was most likely going to be the earliest detection, I was less fearful and ready for the results. My first thermogram was a right TH3+ (strongly questionable) and a left TH2. Thermography also detected a very prominent, bilateral vascular pattern indicating estrogen dominance, which is often associated with fibrocystic breast tissue and/or breast tenderness. I thought that this may correlate to all of my breast symptoms.

The best news was, of course, that there were no abnormal hyperthermic signals or vascular patterns over the site of the mammogram findings. Better yet, I may be able to make some changes to reverse these findings. I became extremely interested in prevention, and worked on lowering risk factors, including lowering my stress levels through better time management and meditation. I began to eliminate or reduce sources of estrogen such as soy consumption. It turned out that I was consuming a great deal of soy products on a regular basis. I eliminated drinking from plastic water bottles and eating food heated in plastic. I try my best to eat organic fruits and vegetables with modest amounts of free-range organic meats. I also check labels for parabens, which are also estrogen precursors. With the help of my health care practioner, I started taking a supplement to help with estrogen metabolism. I made these changes over a period of a several months and started noticing corresponding improvements in my breast symptomatology.

I had my follow-up mammogram, which was normal. I was happy, but now that I am better informed, would not want to rely solely on this one test for breast cancer screening. I have known too many women who found a cancerous lump only a couple of months after a normal mammogram or a series of normal mammograms over years.

My six-month follow-up thermogram was a right TH2+ and a left TH2, with improvements in the blood vessel pattern indicating estrogen dominance. Since my hyperthermic findings were stable, with improvements in vascular findings, thermography was recommended annually. I fine tuned my preventative protocol over the next year, and continue to see improvements on my thermogram. I am now a TH2 bilaterally and have come a long way in just two years.