October 1, 2015 general

In last week’s blog I talked about fall colors and October pink. This week I want to talk about the red, yellow, green and blue colors of typical thermography prints as shown in the picture. Thermography is simply the measurement of heat. The body generates heat in varying amounts depending on the health and activities of tissues. For example, inflammation equals higher levels of heat. That is why chiropractors sometimes use thermography to show patients trouble spots in their spines. I am particularly interested in thermography for evaluating breast health because it does not involve exposing that tender tissue to radiation. There is simply no debate over the fact that radiation causes cancer. That is just one reason for the current controversy regarding mammograms.

Mammograms are often mistakenly lumped in with other ways to “prevent” cancer. However, clearly breast x-rays at best provide “earlier detection” of disease than waiting for a large lump to appear. Unfortunately, by the time a tumor is visible, it has been growing for some time…most likely many years. Mammograms can miss smaller cancers that might be detectable by more sensitive means. Those are called false negatives. At the other extreme, mammograms very often produce false positive results—indicating cancer when there is none. Those alarms create panic and dangerous over-treatment.

Therefore, the current view in mainstream medicine (read the Mayo Clinic opinion) is very confusing. But, the direction is toward recommending that women should get fewer mammograms than was the previous standard. Some writers, such as Joseph M. Mercola, DO point to studies that question the most fundamental risk-to-benefit basis of mammograms as a way of reducing deaths from breast cancer. There are unique differences in each case and I will not get between a woman and her doctor’s recommendation on that subject.

Thermography compared to mammograms. There is no harm in thermography and it can show abnormalities at a much earlier stage where improvements in diet and lifestyle might turn the situation around. (Thermography is what Dr. Mercola recommends.) Some women have mammograms less frequently and get thermograms in between.

One type of thermography called “infrared regulation thermography” measures cellular metabolism and responses of the nervous system. It records precise skin temperatures and temperature changes over specific organs around the body. That can reveal a great deal of information about how various body systems are functioning. The information gained from such an analysis would take thousands of dollars of very sophisticated conventional medical tests to discover if one even knew what to ask for. Thermography does not diagnose disease, but it is a nifty screening tool to provide the person with the right questions on which to follow up.

Thermography may be an excellent investment in health, but it is typically not yet covered by insurance because it has not been proven to the satisfaction of mainstream medicine. (Sadly, I question if it will be any time soon since there is such a huge economic system supporting mammography and so few funding sources to conduct comparative studies.)

I have been pleased with the Thermography Center of Dallas. In October they are giving their clients 20% off a whole body thermography session. They are located at 5220 Spring Valley Suite 405 Dallas, Texas 75254 | Phone: 214-352-8758

For those readers not in the DFW metroplex, search online for thermography to see what is available in your area, either standard or whole body.