A local thermographic technician is not worried about losing her patients. She only hopes that new ones check their sources.
Health Canada recently issued a warning to Canadians and health-care providers that thermography machines are not approved in Canada for breast cancer screening.
It said relying on the results of the tests could be a potential risk and suggested women contact their doctors for appropriate follow-ups and testing.
Thermography uses a heat-sensitive infrared camera to measure and take images of heat units emitted from the body. Until recently, some thermography clinics advertised that the images could be used to detect breast cancer in its early stages.
But thermography is not a screening tool, says Danielle Thomas, clinic director and certified thermographic technician with the Alberta Thermography and Women’s Holistic Clinic in St. Albert.
“It does not show breast cancer. That is false. We are looking at thermal patterns and for areas of potential risk and we use thermography as a specific risk assessment tool,” she said.
Thomas said the images taken by the machine show how blood vessels behave in the body.
Abnormal cells emit more heat than healthy cells. They spur increased blood flow to infected areas to allow for cancerous growth and ongoing nutrient supply. This process results in an increase in regional surface temperature of the breast.
Thomas added that a change in physiology could also point to an infection or inflammation. However, since temperature changes and variations may be early signs for breast cancer, some patients are asked to return for more regular screenings.
“We look at the quantitative and qualitative data, the health history of a person, and the analysis of thermal images,” she said.
“Depending on what the changes in temperature are, we are looking if this is something that needs to be checked with an ultrasound as well.”
Alexander Mostovoy, clinic director of Thermography Clinic Incorporated, said Health Canada issued its report based on a story by the CBC. The story said that a number of Canadian clinics were advertising that thermography could detect breast cancer well ahead of time.
Mostovoy’s Toronto-based clinic is the umbrella organization for a number of thermography clinics across Canada, one of which is Thomas’. After taking heat images of a patient, the clinic sends them to Toronto where board-certified thermographers analyze them.
Mostovoy said it was a sad reality that there were few regulations in place to monitor thermography clinics in the country.
“Many practitioners cross the line by saying they can detect breast cancer and this is for breast cancer detection,” he said.
“That’s absurd. Thermography does not detect breast cancer. The only way that you can detect breast cancer is to have a biopsy.”
He said thermography looked at the statistical probability of risk based on test results. Some women were classified to be at low risk, while others were classified to be at high risk. High risk did not mean someone had cancer but that they had an increased probability of getting it one day.
He added that thermography was proven to add ten per cent more accuracy when used in conjunction with physical examination, mammography and ultrasound.
“Right now we have a system of medicine where we wait for people to break down and then we rush to treat them,” he said.
“This way we can proactively work with them and see signs if they are moving in the wrong direction and if their risk factors are escalating and be proactive about it. We usually sit down with them and look at their hormones, and diet and how to reduce the risk.”
Health Canada said it was now following up with manufacturers of thermography machines to ensure they were aware that it was illegal to advertise or sell the machines for breast cancer screening.
The department will be communicating with the provincial and territorial ministries of health to advise them that clinics falling under their responsibility should not promote the machines this way.
Health Canada is also working with the Canada Border Services Agency to stop any unlicensed devices from entering Canada.
Thomas said she had a few patients who reacted to Health Canada’s warning but they were in support of the clinic.
So far her clinic remains unaffected by the warning and she does not expect any changes in the future.
“There will be a positive and a negative buzz just because it’s being publicized but people need to go to the root source of the problem,” she said.
“Saying that it is a way to detect breast cancer, that would be a false advertisement and we don’t claim that within our clinic.”
