Prioritize Your Health This Valentine’s with Breast Thermography
This Valentine's Day, amidst the bouquets of roses and heart-shaped chocolates, let's not forget the most enduring form of love: self-love. It's a perfect time to reflect on how we care for ourselves, particularly when it comes to our health. Caring for your body is one of the purest forms of self-love, and what better way to start than with prioritizing your breast health?
At Functional Health of Lancaster, we're here to introduce you to thermography, a gentle yet effective approach to breast health screening.
Breast health is a deeply personal journey, intertwined with concerns and hopes, fears, and relief. The thought of breast screenings can evoke a mix of emotions, from anxiety about the process to relief in taking proactive steps for your health. Breast thermography (and even whole body thermography) offers a compassionate, non-invasive option that respects your body's comfort and your heart's desire for peace of mind.
It's time to treat yourself with the same love and attention you generously give to others. Let's explore how breast thermography can be a part of your self-care routine, offering not just health insights but also the emotional support you deserve in your wellness journey.
What is Thermography?
Thermography, or thermal imaging, is a non-invasive diagnostic tool that captures heat patterns on the skin's surface. Unlike mammograms that rely on X-rays to look inside the body, thermography uses an infrared camera to detect and record temperature differences. This technique is based on the principle that abnormal tissue growth, like that found in breast cancers, can increase blood flow and raise the temperature of the skin.
The Benefits of Breast Thermography:
Breast thermography offers several advantages over more traditional breast health screenings, such as mammograms:
Non-Invasive and Pain-Free: One of the most significant benefits of thermography is its gentle approach. It requires no physical contact, compression, or the use of radiation, making it an entirely non-invasive and pain-free experience. This aspect can be particularly appealing for women who find mammograms uncomfortable or are concerned about radiation exposure.
Early Detection: Thermography has the potential to detect changes and signs of abnormality before a tumor has formed or before it's large enough to be detected by palpation or mammography. By monitoring thermal changes, breast thermography can signal the need for further investigation at a very early stage.
Uncovers Other Underlying Issues: Thermography can even tell us about autoimmunity, hormone imbalances, and more which help us dive deeper into creating personalized healing protocols for patients.
Suitable for Dense Breast Tissue: Women with dense breast tissue sometimes face challenges with mammogram effectiveness. Thermography, however, isn't affected by tissue density, making it a valuable tool for a broader range of women.
Chemical-Free: As a completely radiation-free method, thermography is an attractive option for those looking for a holistic approach to health screening, without the use of chemicals or radiation.
How Does Breast Thermography Work?
Thermography involves a simple, quick process. During a session, you stand in front of an infrared camera that captures images of the temperature variations on the surface of your breasts. These images, known as thermograms, are then analyzed for abnormalities.
A cooler area might indicate a lack of blood flow, while hotter spots can suggest increased blood flow and activity that could be linked to tumor growth. This process is entirely contact-free, with no compression or radiation, making it an exceptionally comfortable and stress-free experience.
What to Expect From A Thermography Session
Preparation: When you arrive for a thermography session, you might be asked to acclimate to the room's temperature to ensure accurate readings. This period allows your body to reach a stable temperature that won't be influenced by external conditions.
Imaging: You'll stand in front of an infrared camera. It doesn't emit any radiation; instead, it receives infrared rays that your body naturally emits. The camera captures these rays as they reflect off the breast's surface, creating a digital image known as a thermogram. This image maps the heat and blood flow in the breast tissue.
Analysis: Each thermogram displays a heat map of the breasts, with varying colors representing different temperatures. These temperatures can indicate various physiological activities. For example, areas with higher temperatures (often shown in red or yellow) can suggest increased blood flow and metabolic activity, which may be due to the body's response to growing cancer cells. Conversely, cooler areas (depicted in blue or green) might indicate reduced blood flow.
Interpretation: Our trained professional, Breanne, who is specialized in thermography, will interpret the thermograms. She will look for asymmetric heat patterns, unusual hot spots, or any rapid changes in temperature from one area of the breast to another, as these can be indicative of pathology.
Follow-Up: If the breast thermography session reveals areas of concern, you may be advised to undergo further testing. Thermography can detect potential issues early on, but it does not diagnose cancer. Additional diagnostic tools, such as mammography or ultrasound, are required to investigate the cause of the temperature variation.
Who Should Consider Thermography?
Thermography is suitable for anyone interested in a holistic and preventative approach to their breast health. It's particularly beneficial for:
Women with Dense Breast Tissue: The effectiveness of mammograms can be limited by dense breast tissue, making thermography a valuable screening tool for these individuals.
Those Seeking a Radiation-Free Option: If you're looking for a non-invasive, radiation-free screening method, thermography presents an ideal choice.
Women of All Ages: Starting from the early adult years, thermography can be a part of a long-term wellness strategy, offering valuable insights into breast health over time.
Other Types of Thermography
Our thermography services extend well beyond breast health, utilizing this advanced, non-invasive technology to provide a comprehensive view of your well-being. Here's a closer look at the science behind each of our thermography offerings:
Full Body Thermography: Full body thermography is a revolutionary tool that maps the thermal patterns across your entire body, revealing insights into your physiological health. This technique is based on the principle that abnormal tissue growth, inflammation, and other dysfunctions often result in increased blood flow to affected areas, leading to localized temperature changes.
By detecting these subtle variations, we can identify potential health issues in their nascent stages, enabling proactive management and intervention strategies that align with our holistic health philosophy.
Dental Thermography: Oral health is a vital component of overall wellness, with emerging research linking dental issues to systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Dental thermography works by detecting areas of increased temperature in the mouth, which can indicate inflammation, infection, or the presence of dental caries.
This method offers a unique advantage in identifying hidden dental problems that might otherwise go unnoticed, supporting our commitment to comprehensive care that encompasses not just physical but also oral health.
Thyroid Thermography: The thyroid gland plays a crucial role in regulating the body's metabolic rate, energy levels, and hormonal balance. Dysfunctions such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism can significantly impact one's quality of life. Thyroid thermography measures the thermal patterns around the thyroid gland, identifying irregularities that may suggest dysfunction.
This approach allows for early detection and management of thyroid issues, emphasizing our belief in addressing the root causes of health concerns for holistic healing.
Musculoskeletal Thermography: For individuals experiencing unexplained muscle or joint pain, or athletes seeking to optimize their physical health, musculoskeletal thermography offers invaluable insights. This technology identifies areas of inflammation, injury, or chronic pain by highlighting abnormal thermal patterns within the musculoskeletal system.
Understanding these patterns can guide targeted interventions, such as physical therapy or lifestyle modifications, to alleviate pain and enhance mobility. It underscores our approach to health, where the goal is not just the absence of disease but the presence of vibrant well-being.
Integrating Breast Thermography into Your Health Routine
Incorporating thermography into your health care regimen is a proactive step towards maintaining breast health. It's recommended to have an initial thermography screening to establish a baseline, followed by regular check-ups as advised by your health care provider. These sessions can help track changes over time, offering early alerts to potential issues.
For the month of February, we are offering a special! Buy one thermogram, get your second 50% OFF!
Feel Empowered & Book Your Thermography Session Today!
Choosing thermography is more than just selecting a screening method; it's about taking control of your health journey with a technology that respects your body and your comfort. At Functional Health of Lancaster, we're dedicated to empowering you with choices that support your well-being in the most caring and comfortable ways possible.
Embrace this Valentine's Day as an opportunity to show yourself love and care by considering thermography for your breast health. It's a decision that not only aligns with a self-loving approach to wellness but also ensures you are taking mindful, informed steps towards long-term health and happiness.
Meet Breanne Grouzes, RN, CCT
Breanne is a registered nurse and certified clinical thermographer. She has 12 years of nursing experience working with brain injury, stroke and surgical patients. After spending a few years at home raising her family and trying to have a more holistic approach to life, Breanne started to learn more about preventative and natural medicine. Through her own experience, Breanne found the value of digital thermography. Her mission is to bring this non-invasive scan to others to help with earlier detection and prevention of diseases.
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