Patients who are too young to start regular mammograms are turning more and more often to digital infrared thermal imaging or Thermography.
It helps detect early stage breast cancer seven to 10 years before a mammogram would even see it. Thermal imaging detects heat changes within the body. Normal healthy breast tissue shows up in cool blues and greens. Inflammation or heat is red and white. Because cancers and tumors need a lot of blood to grow, early stage inflammation patterns can be a precursor to a problem that is much further down the road.
Still, not all doctors are sold on the test. Radiation Oncologist Dr. Scott Tannehill warns, "Not all cancers are necessarily of different temperatures."
Because of that a Thermogram won't catch everything. Experts warn that Thermography should not be used as the only method to detect breast cancer. The best approach is still regular breast self-exams and mammograms.
