What should I expect during a breast thermography?
The patient is asked to disrobe from the waist up and acclimate to the room temperature for about 7 minutes. Three images are taken, frontal and oblique views. The patient is then asked to submerse the hands in ice water for one minute. The same three images are repeated. This cold challenge is to determine if the blood vessels constrict. Non-cancerous tissue constricts, but cancerous tissue shows up as a “hot spot”. Is thermography covered by insurance? Some companies cover thermography and others do not. The fee is modest to make this needed examination available to everyone. What if my thermogram is positive? There are five possible ratings. TH1-no detectable thermal abnormalities, to TH5-detection of thermal abnormalities correlating with very significant risk for breast cancer. With minor abnormalities, a repeat study in 60-120 days or further tests might be suggested. Physicians trained in complementary medicine may recommend nutritional and/or lifestyle interventions to reverse
