Tara went into a clinic close by to where she lives and was given her first breast thermography screening. Unsure of what to expect, she just knew that she had to have some type of preventative screening for her breast health as she felt she would never be compliant with a mammogram. Her friend, Julie recommended thermography, and she was willing to give it a try.
To her surprise, thermography was a breeze!
After discussing her history questionnaire and consent form for better understanding, Tara was given a clear run down on exactly how the imaging would be done. A quick disrobing of the breast area and she was ready. She had opted for a single region breast screening to work toward establishing a reliable baseline and within minutes the imaging was over. She stood for the screening and just made some turns to get every angle and before she knew it, her cape was back on, and she was changing to go home. Tara was not sure initially what to expect, but true to its advertising (and Julie’s recommendation), thermography was noninvasive (nothing touched her) and there was no radiation - a couple of pictures and the camera did all the work.
A week later Tara received her results and was told that an email reminder to return would be set for her in plenty of time to make her return appointment and complete her baseline. She understood that her first set of images was not enough to determine a solid baseline of her heat patterning. Willing to comply with the process of getting that solid finding, she was back within the 3-month period and found the appointment to be just as swift and painless as the first. The only difference was this time she spent some time talking with her technician on how to set a Breast Health Plan that suited her and that she would be compliant with in the future.
At Tara’s history review, she revealed that she had some concern with her own breast health due to family members that had been diagnosed with breast cancer. In addition, her history also revealed that she was prone to fibrocystic (“lots of lumps, bumps and tenderness”) activity in and around her cycle. All of this made her feel a little anxious about how to move forward with her own breast health plan and how to determine what was best for her. During the appointment, a concise explanation of what structural (mammograms, ultrasounds and MRI) screenings provide in their results was given to her. Despite setting a baseline with thermography and planning to screen every year, it was also recommended to her that she consider a structural screening in her plan given her family history and concern. She chose to seek out an ultrasound (no radiation) every 4 years in conjunction with her thermography. Tara also made the decision to start including daily lymph brushing prior to her shower time to make sure that her tenderness and pain were diminished from fibrocystic activity around her cycle.
Armed with a plan, Tara was still concerned about what to do if she did not make a baseline with the second set of images and furthermore, what to do if she was off her baseline in the future. Having been given assurance that she controlled what she did and how she did it, Tara was fully armed with a concrete breast health plan that made her feel empowered about making her own decisions. So much so that she was ready to discuss her plan openly with her gynecologist the next time she saw her. This was all thanks to an understanding of how to talk with her about the choices she made.
As Tara left the appointment, she was confident that she had a full understanding of how thermography would work for her moving forward and she no longer feared any breast imaging.
Do you want to feel this peace and assurance about
your Breast Health Plan?
If you are new to thermography, your second appointment will include comprehensively answering all of your questions about the process. This appointment will provide you with education and assistance in helping you to determine a plan of your own.
If you aren’t currently getting thermograms – what’s your hesitation? Give Insight Holistic Imaging a call today to discuss any reservations you have about your own breast health plan – Education is Always Empowerment!