1) Does thermography use radiation or compress my breasts? No, breast thermography uses infrared cameras to take pictures of the temperature of your skin.
2) Is it safe? Yes, very safe! Breast thermography has been researched since the 1970’s and has over 800 peer-reviewed studies with over 300,000 women to back it up.
3) What will a scan tell me? If you have areas of concern on your pictures, you will be referred for additional diagnostic work-up such as a mammogram. Thermography has been shown to find cancerous or pre-cancerous cell growth up to 10 years earlier than would be otherwise detected because it detects abnormal blood vessel growth and hormone changes.
4) How often should I get scanned? Women should start early for a baseline reading. Many studies recommend having your first scan between 20 and 30 years old. If there is area of concern, you may need to return for additional scans every 6 months.
5) Will insurance cover this? In some states, insurance will cover part of the fee. Most infrared scans range from $250-500.
6) Can I still have this done if I am pregnant or nursing? Yes you can.
7) Will the infrared scan diagnose breast cancer? No. Just like a mammogram and ultrasound, infrared is a screening tool used to determine the health of your breast tissue. If there is an area of concern, you will still be referred for additional work-up such as a mammogram.
8) What if the infrared scan shows something and the mammogram does not? Remember, both are screening tools and infrared scans can show blood vessel and hormone changes up to 10 years earlier than other tests. You and your doctor will work to balance your hormones, decrease your risk factors, and encourage healthy breast tissue.
9) What if my skin always feels hot? There are specialty control procedures in place to make sure your infrared scan is accurate. Additionally, you will be asked not to wear any deodorant, lotions, or perfumes on the day of the scan.
10) Do I need a doctor’s order to get one? Not necessarily. If you are not using your insurance, you can call and set-up an appointment at most centers. Remember, if something comes up, you will be referred back to your physician for further work-up.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Breast Thermography: Another Approach to Healthy Breasts
As women, we are well aware of mammograms and ultrasounds. We know to do self-breast exams every month and routine screening begins at age 40, sometimes earlier depending on family or personal history. We know to feel for lumps, bumps, pain, skin changes, and generally anything that is out of the ordinary for our breast tissue when doing our own exams.
What about including Breast Thermography?
This imaging uses a digital infrared camera to see the metabolic and circulatory activity within your breasts by relying on surface temperature. The pictures produced are color coded in that a “hot” or very active site is bright red, while a “cool” site is blue/green. Cancerous lesions require its own blood supply and nutrients to grow; therefore it promotes angiogenesis which is the growth of new blood vessels from old blood vessels just re-routed. This swarm of new blood vessels carries a degree of heat to them that show up on the breast thermography as red areas. Because angiogenesis happens early, very tiny cancerous spots or pre-cancerous conditions may be detected much sooner.
Breast Thermography does not use radiation nor does it require compression or direct contact with the breasts. It has been approved by the FDA since 1983 for the adjunct screening of breast cancer. Thermography does not look at anatomy or structure like a mammogram. It will not find an actual mass or lump but it will detect changes in breast temperature as related to angiogenesis and/or hormone shifts to the tissue. If you are considering a breast thermogram, remember it should be used in conjunction with a mammogram.
What about including Breast Thermography?
This imaging uses a digital infrared camera to see the metabolic and circulatory activity within your breasts by relying on surface temperature. The pictures produced are color coded in that a “hot” or very active site is bright red, while a “cool” site is blue/green. Cancerous lesions require its own blood supply and nutrients to grow; therefore it promotes angiogenesis which is the growth of new blood vessels from old blood vessels just re-routed. This swarm of new blood vessels carries a degree of heat to them that show up on the breast thermography as red areas. Because angiogenesis happens early, very tiny cancerous spots or pre-cancerous conditions may be detected much sooner.
Breast Thermography does not use radiation nor does it require compression or direct contact with the breasts. It has been approved by the FDA since 1983 for the adjunct screening of breast cancer. Thermography does not look at anatomy or structure like a mammogram. It will not find an actual mass or lump but it will detect changes in breast temperature as related to angiogenesis and/or hormone shifts to the tissue. If you are considering a breast thermogram, remember it should be used in conjunction with a mammogram.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Top 10 Foods to Eat Organic!
Times are a changing and the green movement has taken hold throughout most of the country. People are recycling, buying more environmentally friendly cars, re-using shopping bags, and eating organic. To some, this great switch to save our planet could cause some frustration as not all stores offer organic and going from regular milk to hormone-free, organic milk may take a chunk out of your paycheck. Not to fret my eco-conscious friend! There is a great website by the Environmental Working Group that examines the least and most toxic fruits and vegetables to help you decide how organic your budget can go. Of course, the more hormone-free, non-toxic you can be for you and your family the better.
Let’s start with what those you should absolutely buy organic because they are the MOST toxic. In order of toxicity: peaches (absolute most), apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes, and pears. The problem lies in their sweet, juicy, thin skin that enables pesticides and herbicides to absorb right in to the body. Even if you peel your skins, the fruit/vegetable itself holds many nasty chemicals you doesn’t need.
The next list is the top 10 LEAST toxic fruits/vegetables and is probably okay to buy non-organic. In order of low-level toxicity: onion (absolute least), avocado, sweet corn (non-GMO), pineapple, mangoes, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, bananas, and cabbage. Do you see a pattern? These foods don’t have thin, juicy skins; they tend to have tougher outsides that are pealed and therefore difficult to penetrate by a chemical. Even the difference between lettuce (which is more toxic) and cabbage (least toxic) lies in the stiffness of their leaves. Cabbage leaves are much more firm and difficult for chemicals to absorb inside.
Please consider these lists when you are out shopping and doing your part to support the environment. If your neighborhood stores don’t carry organic, look to farmer’s markets and buy local.
Let’s start with what those you should absolutely buy organic because they are the MOST toxic. In order of toxicity: peaches (absolute most), apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes, and pears. The problem lies in their sweet, juicy, thin skin that enables pesticides and herbicides to absorb right in to the body. Even if you peel your skins, the fruit/vegetable itself holds many nasty chemicals you doesn’t need.
The next list is the top 10 LEAST toxic fruits/vegetables and is probably okay to buy non-organic. In order of low-level toxicity: onion (absolute least), avocado, sweet corn (non-GMO), pineapple, mangoes, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, bananas, and cabbage. Do you see a pattern? These foods don’t have thin, juicy skins; they tend to have tougher outsides that are pealed and therefore difficult to penetrate by a chemical. Even the difference between lettuce (which is more toxic) and cabbage (least toxic) lies in the stiffness of their leaves. Cabbage leaves are much more firm and difficult for chemicals to absorb inside.
Please consider these lists when you are out shopping and doing your part to support the environment. If your neighborhood stores don’t carry organic, look to farmer’s markets and buy local.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Estrogen Balance and Broccoli - The Most Important Vegetable for Women.
Can broccoli, brussels sprouts, and kale really help your estrogen metabolism? The answer is YES! Diindolylmethane (otherwise known as DIM) is a constituent in these cruciferous vegetables that enables your body to properly break estrogen down into a more friendly form and flush it from your system. It helps to restore your hormone balance.
Once the life of an estrogen molecule is over, it heads to your liver where it is transformed into one of three break-down molecules known as hydroxylation. Your estrogen can become a 2, hydroxyestrogen, 4, hydroxyestrogen, or a 16, hydroxyestrogen. This is important to understand because both the numbers 4 and 16 are not healthy for your body. In fact, these new estrogen molecules (especially the 16, hydroxyestrogen) can act like estrogen even though they started the break-down process AND are implicated in breast and other estrogen sensitive cancers.
In contrast, the 2, hydroxyestrogen appears to have minimal estrogen qualities and is the much safer break-down molecule for your body.
The cruciferous or brassica family contain broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collards, kale, mustard seeds, mustard greens, turnips and many more. They are a rich dietary source of DIM which promotes the 2, hydroxyestrogen and may be cancer protective.
DIM and your cruciferous vegetables may also help in other estrogen dominant problems such as endometriosis, menopausal complaints, uterine hyperplasia, fibrocystic breasts, and more.
Make sure you include plenty of cruciferous vegetables in your diet and slightly cook, steam, stir-fry or sauté them for greater benefit.
Once the life of an estrogen molecule is over, it heads to your liver where it is transformed into one of three break-down molecules known as hydroxylation. Your estrogen can become a 2, hydroxyestrogen, 4, hydroxyestrogen, or a 16, hydroxyestrogen. This is important to understand because both the numbers 4 and 16 are not healthy for your body. In fact, these new estrogen molecules (especially the 16, hydroxyestrogen) can act like estrogen even though they started the break-down process AND are implicated in breast and other estrogen sensitive cancers.
In contrast, the 2, hydroxyestrogen appears to have minimal estrogen qualities and is the much safer break-down molecule for your body.
The cruciferous or brassica family contain broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collards, kale, mustard seeds, mustard greens, turnips and many more. They are a rich dietary source of DIM which promotes the 2, hydroxyestrogen and may be cancer protective.
DIM and your cruciferous vegetables may also help in other estrogen dominant problems such as endometriosis, menopausal complaints, uterine hyperplasia, fibrocystic breasts, and more.
Make sure you include plenty of cruciferous vegetables in your diet and slightly cook, steam, stir-fry or sauté them for greater benefit.
5 Simple Health Habits That Won’t Break The Bank!
Welcome to a whole new year! A year that already promises to keep us on our toes for a long while. Perhaps you have heard about this whole economy thing and made the decision to scale back, spend less, and drop some habits that were biting into the checkbook. In any case, I am here to remind you to take care of you in the coming year and to not put yourself last on your list when working the budget.
Here are some simple things you can do everyday for your health – remember, you’re important!
1) Drink clean water everyday – stop the sodas, juices and other sugary drinks. Water is vital to our health and the health of our body. We use it to clear out toxins, re-hydrate our brain, and improve the health of our organs, including our sagging skin!
2) Drink organic green tea. This powerful anti-oxidant helps support our immune system, wards off those nasty free-radicals, and contains anti-cancer properties.
3) Get a little sun! The effects of Vitamin D are so plentiful that any search on the internet will yield pages and pages of great benefits important for women’s health. If you live in a non-sunny spot like me, or are concerned about skin cancer, then have your doctor test your Vitamin D levels and consider supplementing. Remember I said get a ‘little’ sun, not bask in tanning oil for hours!
4) Move it! Get off of your couch, get out from behind your computer (after you finish reading this article, of course), put the kid in a stroller and work your back side. Exercise and movement is so critical for our short and long-term health needs…plus you can walk around the block or a park, do an exercise video or even You-Tube different exercise programs and follow along from your own home without spending at a gym.
5) Eat one less naughty food/drink and one more fruit/vegetable every day. We all splurged over the holidays so hit that ‘do-over’ button and start fresh! Switch out one cookie for a carrot or one sugary-sweet coffee drink for an apple.
Here are some simple things you can do everyday for your health – remember, you’re important!
1) Drink clean water everyday – stop the sodas, juices and other sugary drinks. Water is vital to our health and the health of our body. We use it to clear out toxins, re-hydrate our brain, and improve the health of our organs, including our sagging skin!
2) Drink organic green tea. This powerful anti-oxidant helps support our immune system, wards off those nasty free-radicals, and contains anti-cancer properties.
3) Get a little sun! The effects of Vitamin D are so plentiful that any search on the internet will yield pages and pages of great benefits important for women’s health. If you live in a non-sunny spot like me, or are concerned about skin cancer, then have your doctor test your Vitamin D levels and consider supplementing. Remember I said get a ‘little’ sun, not bask in tanning oil for hours!
4) Move it! Get off of your couch, get out from behind your computer (after you finish reading this article, of course), put the kid in a stroller and work your back side. Exercise and movement is so critical for our short and long-term health needs…plus you can walk around the block or a park, do an exercise video or even You-Tube different exercise programs and follow along from your own home without spending at a gym.
5) Eat one less naughty food/drink and one more fruit/vegetable every day. We all splurged over the holidays so hit that ‘do-over’ button and start fresh! Switch out one cookie for a carrot or one sugary-sweet coffee drink for an apple.
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