Women with dense breasts have special screening considerations addressed only by Thermography.
Understanding what “dense breast” means is helpful in understanding the limitations of performing a mammogram on dense breasts. Thermographic breast imaging does not present the problems of traditional screening methods like mammography and can be an excellent choice for women with dense breast tissue who wish to monitor their breast health with no-radiation breast screenings.
Having dense breasts is not abnormal and in fact is quite common. The term dense breast is often used incorrectly to describe breast tissue that feels firm to the touch. Breast density actually has nothing to do with firmness or size. In truth, the proportion of fatty tissue to non-fatty tissue determines density. Breasts are considered dense when there is a higher proportion of glands, ducts, and connective tissue, than there is fatty tissue. When the breast is dense, the fibrous connective tissue will appear in mammographic images as white spots, as opposed to a breast with a high degree of fatty tissue, which appears as a more solid dark grey picture. Tumors also appear as white spots on mammograms, making it difficult to detect the presence of a tumor on the mammogram of a dense breast.
This is why women with dense breasts need to take extra care when making decisions about breast screening. Breast density is so important that The American College of Radiology includes density measurement in their reporting system. In some states, reporting density is so important, law mandates that a statement similar to the following be included in each mammography report:
“Your mammogram shows that your breast tissue is dense. Dense breast tissue can make it harder to evaluate the results of your mammogram and may also be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.”
Dense Breasts? Thermography Versus Mammography
Once you know you have dense breasts you must be on your guard because having dense breasts is associated with a higher incidence of cancer; likely due to the trouble differentiating between what is normal breast tissue vs. a growth on a mammograms. Conversely, dense breasts do not affect thermography. The composition of the breast tissue will not impede the measurement of heat being emitted from the body so the thermograhic picture quality will not be compromised.
Breast thermography is a non-invasive, non-radiologic screening test used by many women to look for early signs of pathology in the breast. While it can be useful for all women, it is especially suitable for those with dense breasts. During a thermography screening, an infrared digital camera captures representations of “hot spots” caused by blood vessel activity associated with tumor development.
The activity in blood vessels surrounding a tumor will begin to occur quite early in the growth process so thermography has the potential to help identify a tumor when it is smaller, at an earlier, and likely, a more treatable stage of development. Thermography is not intended to be a replacement for mammography, but is FDA-approved for women with all breast types wishing to use a non-radiation approach for breast health.
Schedule your safe and natural thermal breast scan or full body scan today and achieve peace of mind …
Thermography can detect early signs of the development of disease in the body such as formation of tumors and breast cancer as well as periodontal and heart disease. Thermal imaging scans performed with experience and expertise can allow you to identify and understand potential health issues today rather than years from now when it can be too late to treat.
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