Services: Breast Health
May is for Breast Friends! 2-for-1 Screening Package
At Valentus Clinics, we have brought together two non-invasive technologies that give women of all ages radiation-free, pain-free options for monitoring their breast health: Thermography and Digital Breast Exams.
Thermography is particularly useful in monitoring breast health. A thermogram can alert doctors to changes in the breast that may indicate the presence of a tumour-or the prospect of one developing.
A digital breast exam is up to four times as effective in identifying lumps and lesions as a standard manual breast exam. It’s been clinically proven to map lesions as small as 5mm. The device is also Health Canada-approved.
Together, they help in the important job of giving women a more complete picture of their breast health.
The combination of these two reports will provide a depth of information that can be very useful to your Medical Doctor in determining any next steps.
Please review these resources for more information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fcjRIbmnic&feature=related
http://naturalhealthcenter.mercola.com/services/Thermography.aspx
Digital Breast Exam
What is a Digital Breast Exam?
A digital breast exam is done with a Health Canada- and FDA-approved small, hand-held screening device that glides smoothly across the breast. It's highly sensitive receptor generates a 3-dimensional image map of lesions within the breast, which are then displayed and stored on a small laptop computer. If a mass is detected, the software will show its estimated size, shape, hardness and location. The receptor is up to four times as sensitive as the human hand and effectively identifies lumps and lesions. In fact, digital breast scanning has been clinically proven to map lesions as small as 5mm. This state-of-the-art technology emits no radiation and causes no pain.
How does it work?
Just as a digital camera captures the sense of sight, a digital breast scanner's tactile sensing apparatus captures the sense of touch. The device scans the breast and digitally records its findings in permanent, reproducible 3D format to a laptop computer. If a mass is detected, the scanner will instantly show its estimated size, shape, hardness and location.
Who should consider a Digital Breast Exam?
Every woman 18 and older should make a regular digital breast exam part of her healthcare regimen. Statistics confirm that Canadian women aged 20-49 have one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the developed world. Early detection is the best weapon against breast cancer. Mammography, the standard diagnostic tool, is only recommended in Canada for women over 40. In the US, mammography is recommended only for women over 50 and only once every two years.
Even women over 40 who have regular mammograms can benefit from a digital breast exam because it can detect breast abnormalities at an extremely early stage. Digital breast exams are also effective among women with dense breast tissue or those who have had implants.
What can I expect during a Digital Breast Exam?
A Certified Clinician will use the scanner to look for and record lumps and changes in the size, shape, or texture of your breasts and document the findings. The device glides over the breast’s surface and the procedure is usually completed in a matter of minutes.
Where can I learn more?
For more information, we encourage you to review the following clinical papers:
Sarvazyan A, Egorov V, Son JS, Kaufman CS: Cost-effective screening for breast cancer worldwide: current state and future directions. Breast Cancer: Basic and Clinical Research 2008; 1: pp. 91–99.
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Kearney TJ, Airapetian S, and Sarvazyan A, "Tactile breast imaging to increase the sensitivity of breast examination" , J Clin Oncol, Volume 22, July 15 supp: 103, 2004
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Ables DC, et al., "Development of a device for documenting the clinical breast exam using a capacitive tactile array sensor." Medicine Meets Virtual Reality, 15th Annual Meeting, February 2007.
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Ables DC, et al., "The science behind electronic palpation: quantifying the sense of touch used in the clinical breast exam." San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, 29th Annual Meeting, December 2006.
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Kaufman CS, et al., "Objective measurement of the physical exam using a new device: reproducible triage of palpable masses" , Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2004; 88; supp 1:S223-4- SABCS 2004
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Kaufman CS, Palpation Imaging: Current Status, White paper 2005
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Kaufman CS, Jacobson L, Bachman BA, Kaufman LB: Digital documentation of the physical examination: moving the clinical breast exam to the electronic medical record. The American Journal of Surgery 192 (2006) 444-449.
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