I need to schedule my annual mammography but I am hesitant b/c I do not want unnecessary radiation exposure. I just turned 40 & have a history of Breast cancer on my Moms side. Ive been reading about breast thermography & it says that it is much better than mammography. It can detect tumors way before a mammo can & its very little radiation. I know that I would have to pay out of pocket for this.
Has anyone out there had a breast thermo or know any other info? Opinions, advice welcomed!
I've heard about thermography a lot lately. I'm only 34 so not there yet but don't usually practice a lot of western medicine. I follow Earth Motherhood's blog and she talks about it a lot. You can find her on Facebook too.
i was told to get both, but insurance pays only regular. Plus, is it experimental or not?
I'll let you know as a scientist. The amount of radiation is so low- forget about it. I get more than that walking outside where I live in the mountains. However, I have heard about breast thermography but it is experimental right now which means they haven't yet proven their claims. It's up to you and what you want but you would have to get a whole lot of mammograms to even touch the radiation scale of danger.
I haven't heard about thermography, but I recently got my first mammogram done. I am 39 and my doc actually recommended it when I was 35 because my gm on M.'s side had breast cancer. My understanding of the mammogram is that there is insignificant amount of radiation associated with it. My worry was how uncomfortable it may be based on what I heard, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was not uncomfortable at all. Plus now they are digital, and I believe this means it may be even easier to read/interpret. The only "discomfort" I felt was psychological - it somehow made me feel older because I've always associated getting a mammogram with what "older" women do :) Good luck!
Imo, breast thermography isn't experimental. It's been used since the early 1970's and was approved by the FDA in 1982 for breast cancer detection and risk assessment. Thermography is a physiological study where the infrared camera detects the heat which is emitted in the breast, no radiation or pressure to delicate breast tissue or tumors. Mammograms(4 films of each breast) expose breasts to about 1,000x more radiation than a chest xray.
I suggest you do some additional research and decide what option is best for you. Dr. Mercola has excellent articles on the benefits and risks of thermography/mammograms.
The American College of Clinical Thermology; (ACCT) is another place to start.
I'm 40, haven't had a mammogram yet because I have been advised in the past to wait until I'm done breastfeeding to do a baseline mammogram. I have been researching breast thermography as an alternative screening for myself due to the fact that I'm still breastfeeding and my PCM is pushing for a mammogram since I have 2nd generation aunts on both sides that have had breast cancer. My insurance won't cover thermography but I plan to save and pay out of pocket for the service. I have learned that AFLAC is one that does.
Best of luck in your research.
Peace & Light,
J. Lenz
