Thermography may have saved my life.(breast cancer diagnosis)

Women's Health Letter; 4/1/2002; Fuchs, Nan Kathryn

I have just gone through three of the most difficult and rewarding weeks of my life. They began the day I had my first thermogram. I say it was my first because I can't imagine not having them on a regular basis. My thermogram may have saved my life.

I never liked being exposed to radiation or having my breasts mashed, so I am one of the thousands of women who has not had regular mammograms. I do not advocate this. I'm just being honest with you. Between eating a healthy diet, taking good quality nutritional supplements, not taking estrogen, and using regular stress reduction techniques -- combined with breast self exams, I felt I was doing enough. But I decided to have a thermogram because it was non-invasive and could give me some good information about my breast health.

On a sunny, crisp California day, I drove down to Redwood City to visit PCRC Infrared Imaging Center, run by Drs. William Amalu and Robert Kane. I wanted to see firsthand how thermograms were done and report to you about what the procedure was like. Not all centers use state-of-the-art equipment with stringent protocols. And not all thermograms are interpreted by board-certified thermologists. This one was, which was why I chose to visit it.

Screening through a health history

I began by completing a one-page history that would help evaluate my risk for breast cancer. It's generally accepted, although not known for certain, that lifetime exposure to estrogens puts a woman at the greatest risk factor for breast cancer. Although I haven't had any children, I considered myself to be at low risk. The only other risk I noted on my history form was that my maternal grandmother had breast cancer. My 93-year-old mother has none, nor had any other blood relatives.

What it's like to get a thermogram

The most discomfort from getting a thermogram is being a little chilly. Because this technology is based on reading heat in the breast, you need to be acclimated in a very cool room -- between 68 and 73 degrees -- for about 15 minutes before the pictures are taken. Otherwise, the images are not accurate.

Before my breast images were taken, I disrobed from the waist up and sat with my arms on the armrests of a chair. Then the thermography technician had me move from side to side to look for any visible signs of abnormalities. There were none. Next, I lay on my back for 15 minutes with my hands behind my head so that the heat from my arms and hands would not interfere with the heat in my breasts. Actually, it seemed more like I waited for half an hour! At first, I was comfortable and warm enough since I was lying down and my back was warm. But by the time the technician came into the room, I was a little colder than I like to be.

The technician had me stand in front of a camera and took pictures of various views of my breasts that were captured on a computer monitor. The procedure felt completely comfortable, both physically and emotionally. It was different from getting an X-ray or getting a mammogram. Nothing potentially harmful was coming out of the camera. It was simply taking a picture of my breasts.

Occasionally, another procedure is added that enhances the detection of increased blood-vessel activity if the doctor interpreting the thermogram thinks it's indicated. It's called a cold challenge and it causes blood vessels to constrict, giving the thermogram reader a better view of blood-vessel activity. To give me the full thermography experience, I submerged my hands in ice water. The idea is to keep your hands in the ice water for 45 to 60 seconds, or as long as you can, to allow blood vessels to get smaller. I lasted just 20 seconds--long enough, I was told. After I removed my hands from the water, additional pictures were taken.

My findings

I was surprised to find that my thermogram showed increased heat in both breasts. Was this a pre-cancerous condition? The doctor who read my images believed the heat that was present in my thermogram was due, at least in part, to excess estrogen and insufficient progesterone in my breasts. I was shocked. I've been postmenopausal for more than a decade, and last year had extensive blood and urine tests to assay my hormone levels. Both estrogen and progesterone levels were low. Now I was told I had too much estrogen. What was happening?

There's a difference between blood levels and breast levels of estrogen. Blood levels show the amount of hormones circulating in the blood. But fatty breast tissues produce estrogen, and even if your blood levels are low, you may, like me, have too much estrogen in your breast tissues. My thermogram was a powerful warning sign to get a mammogram, see my doctor, and closely watch that area.

Since I hadn't had a mammogram for a number of years, Dr. Amalu suggested that I get one, and have a follow-up thermogram in three months. When anything out of the ordinary shows on a thermogram and more information is needed, a mammogram is usually the next step. A mammogram would give me a baseline for comparison and could rule out a problem or locate the precise place where a tumor exists. Remember, the combination of thermography and mammography is 95 percent accurate in locating early stage cancers.

I must admit that I was surprised to find from Dr. Amalu that I was not as low risk for breast cancer as I had assumed. My grandmother's breast cancer, my not having children, and my failure to use natural progesterone all put me at a higher risk for breast cancer than I had thought.

My next step

Although I've been a health care practitioner for 25 years and have a tremendous amount of knowledge, I was frightened to hear that my thermogram showed any signs of abnormality at all. My emotions and my rational mind that usually travel along parallel paths suddenly diverged. My mind told me that there was a sign of increased blood-vessel activity that might eventually lead to breast cancer years down the road. I had time to get more information and take steps to change this condition. But my emotions and my imagination were getting the best of me.

So instead of worrying, I went to a movie to take my mind off my immediate concern. Next, I took some kava to reduce my anxiety. The next morning, I called my doctors. My primary care doctor had just gone on vacation, so I spoke with my secondary doctor, osteopath Terri Turner, one of the most compassionate and knowledgeable people I know. Together, we planned dietary and supplement changes. The most important step for me to take was to apply progesterone cream directly to my breasts. When my primary care doctor, osteopath Sharon Oison, returned from vacation, she called and suggested some additional supplements I could take. "Don't worry," she said. She was experienced in working with abnormal thermograms and felt we had a good chance to turn around my condition.

An emotional rollercoaster

Getting a warning sign, or any bad news, feels like an inner earthquake. At times I was able to work, at other times, my mind shifted to dozens of "what ifs." I decided not to talk about my thermogram to anyone who did not have a possible part of my solution. So I didn't tell many of my close friends or my family. What I didn't want to hear was "you'll be all right" until I knew that this, in fact, was true.

To handle my ever-changing emotions, I meditated more, took kava extract to take the edge off my anxiety, and asked friends who use prayer in their daily lives to pray for me. I worked when I could and took time off when I couldn't. I was gentle with myself.

Both of my doctors, who happen to be women, were concerned about my emotional state and addressed it. None of the three male doctors I spoke with during these first three weeks ever asked me how I was feeling about this news. I was surprised at this, because I know that they are all deeply caring men. I sounded fine, so in their minds, perhaps, I was. Fear of getting breast cancer is a deep one shared by just about every woman I have met. In addition to information, I wanted and needed compassion.

Once I had a plan I could follow, along with the assurance of my two doctors that my condition was reversible, my mind and emotions were once again on the same track. I now have an expanded supplement program that's designed to turn off estrogen receptors and boost my immune system so my body can take a different path -- one of healing itself. I will share my program with you after I see what it does for me even though I know that positive thermograms can have causes that lead to different protocols than mine.

You may ask why I didn't design my nutritional program myself. I turned to my superb medical doctors to be my partners because I wasn't convinced I could see my whole picture as clearly as they could. And I wanted the benefit of their experiences.

The value of thermography

Thermography gave me an opportunity to learn more about my body and how to care for it. It helped me break through illusions and showed me that even though early signs of a problem bring up fears, they are less frightening than finding a more serious condition. As your spokesperson for women's health, I realize I'm in a unique position to seek out and report old and new therapies that can keep us healthier longer. So I will continue to bring you up-to-date on my condition. We all have to face our changing health and look carefully at our options. We need to choose them based on the input from doctors and other health practitioners we trust. And in this process, hopefully, we will each see that your journey and mine are not so different. As we look at this connection, we can see and feel a tremendous amount of support and caring that is unique with women.