Radiation Exposure and Cancer Risk

Reduce unnecessary exposure to X-ray radiation.

This is not going to come to anyone as a big surprise. However, The Journal of Clinical Oncology, July 2006 reported that women who are genetically predisposed to breast cancer with BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, having at least one chest X-ray were 54% more likely to develop breast cancer than those who had never had one. Yet it is precisely the population of women who are regularly screened with X-Ray mammography and who are encouraged to do so on regular basis. It is not hard to see that a certain segment of the female population becomes more susceptible to cancer by early exposure to regular X-ray screening. Additionally, X-ray radiation is cumulative. The more frequent the exposure, the exponentially higher the risk. Well, this approach just does not make any sense.

The good news is that breast thermography can be used to screen out this high-risk group with no exposure to radiation. Breast thermography measures the surface temperature of the breast providing a physiological assessment. This method can provide women of all ages with a risk assessment of their breast health and can identify areas of concern early in its development. Regular breast thermography examinations can establish a baseline that can be a reference point for monitoring breast health over a long period of time. Any deviation from normal or baseline points to increased risk and can be dealt with to resolve the issue at hand before any serious problems develop.  

Breast thermography is not a competitor to, or a replacement for X-ray mammography, rather is an adjunct tool that can identify areas of abnormal thermal symmetry that are often associated with underlying pathology. When functional abnormalities are detected early, there is an opportunity for early intervention. Yet there is no increase in risk to the patient when thermography is added to regular breast screening.