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Friday, 08 May 2009 18:43 |
The most common type of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the cells of the ducts. Cancer that begins in the lobes or lobules is called lobular carcinoma and is more often found in both breasts than are other types of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer in which the breast is warm, red, and swollen.
Mammograms are used as a screening tool to detect early breast cancer in women experiencing no symptoms and to detect and diagnose breast disease in women experiencing symptoms such as a lump, pain or nipple discharge. Mammography is a specific type of imaging that uses a low-dose x-ray system to examine breasts. Mammogram is used to aid in the early detection and diagnosis of breast diseases in women. Two recent advances in mammography include digital mammography and computer-aided detection.
Digital mammography, also called full-field digital mammography (FFDM), is a mammography system in which the x-ray film is replaced by solid-state detectors that convert x-rays into electrical signals. These detectors are similar to those found in digital cameras. The electrical signals are used to produce images of the breast that can be seen on a computer screen or printed on special film similar to conventional mammograms. From the patient's point of view, having a digital mammogram is essentially the same as having a conventional film screen mammogram. Computer-aided detection (CAD) systems use a digitized mammographic image that can be obtained from either a conventional film mammogram or a digitally acquired mammogram. The computer software then searches for abnormal areas of density, mass, or calcification that may indicate the presence of cancer. The CAD system highlights these areas on the images, alerting the radiologist to the need for further analysis.
 Before scheduling a mammogram, discuss any new findings or problems in your breasts with your doctor. Also, inform your doctor of any prior surgeries and family or personal history of breast cancer. Do not schedule your mammogram for the week before your period if your breasts are usually tender during this time. The best time for a mammogram is one week following your period. Always inform your doctor or x-ray technologist if there is any possibility that you are pregnant. Do not wear deodorant, talcum powder or lotion under your arms or on your breasts on the day of the exam. These can appear on the mammogram as calcium spots. Describe any breast symptoms or problems to the technologist performing the exam. If possible, obtain prior mammograms and make them available to the radiologist at the time of the current exam.
Thermal Breast Imaging is uniquely able to detect the very beginnings of angiogenesis. The pooling of blood and the tiny vessels are invisible to mammography. Not only does mammography have a 20% to 40% margin of error, it can very well aggravate or even cause cancer. Thermography is based on the principle of infrared sensors and converting it to temperature. It has a very high resolution imager, which is part of a complete workstation that has the ability to capture multiple frames of high-resolution data over a precisely timed sequence. As the cold air envelopes the person, stress is created on the sympathetic nervous system, which responds by decreasing the flow of blood to the surface. This normal response is to reduce blood circulation to conserve heat. But areas of angiogenesis in the breast are not under control of the sympathetic nervous system and are not affected. Further, the system can differentiate between malignant tumors and fibrocystic growths, because the latter contains no thermal signature.
All malignancies are definitely abnormal but not all abnormal images are necessarily malignant. However, all malignancies are either of the aggressive (fast growing) or non-aggressive (slow growing) type but which cannot be known at the onset. Hence, an abnormal thermal image is reason enough for intervention. Without having to know and just waiting whether there is a malignancy or not, a woman suspicious of breast cancer with an abnormal thermal breast imaging will feel much better after a non-toxic and non-invasive intervention and a repeat thermal imaging afterwards results in a normal finding.
By Girija Sivasailam
References:
http://www.breastthermography.org/http://www.healthy-communications.com/mammograms_cause_breast_cancer.htm
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