Chiropractor and physical therapist Dr. Karen Cann is the perfect example of modern chiropractic medicine, which incorporates complementary treatments and spinal adjustments to achieve natural, whole-body health.

In fact, Cann went one pioneering step further when she introduced mobile thermography to her Gulf Breeze practice. Thermography is a non-contact, radiation-free screening tool that detects abnormalities in breast and body tissues.

“Breast and full-body thermography can warn individuals that a cancer or possibly a precancerous lesion is forming up to many years before any other test can detect it,” Cann says. “An abnormal thermogram is the single most important sign of high risk for developing cancer. The abnormal breast thermogram is 10 times more significant than a first-order family history of breast cancer.”

Recently she acquired permanent, state-of-the-art thermal imaging equipment from the industry leader, Breast Thermography International (BTI). By doubling down on her investment in thermography, Cann has given her patients a better chance of preventing cancer, which strikes one in eight American women.

Heat Reveals Disease

Thermography uses infrared imaging to detect precancerous and cancerous

growths. Even the smallest tumors are characterized by increased blood flow, which generates heat. The images created by thermography reflect those telltale spikes in temperature.

“Like mammography and other breast-imaging techniques, infrared imaging does not diagnose cancer. Only a biopsy or other diagnostic study can do that,” Cann says. “It does, however, indicate the presence of an abnormality. This could be cancer, fibrocystic disease, an infection, muscular dysfunction or vascular disease.”

The idea of tracking disease through heat is not new to medicine. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, “scanned” the body with clay. Wherever the clay dried first were hot areas, indicating inflammation.

In fact, thermography can detect a hot spot anywhere in the body, whether it stems from fibromyalgia, a sprain or dental problems. Cann says she regularly uses the technology to identify pain-related inflammation. But she’s found it particularly effective for pinpointing breast abnormalities before they can become cancerous. Other abnormalities may include lung, thyroid, intestinal and various skin cancers.

Since Raymond Lawson, M.D., first used breast thermography in 1957, more than 800 peer-reviewed studies on the subject—representing some 300,000 participants—have been published in medical literature. Because of thermography’s accuracy and, more important, its ability to increase survival rates for breast cancer victims, the Food and Drug Administration approved thermography in 1982.

Cann says the top benefit of thermography is that it offers the opportunity of earlier detection of breast disease than is possible with breast self-exam, doctor examination or mammogram alone. She recommends annual thermograms as a complement to those screenings.

Patients getting their first breast thermogram should get a repeat scan three months later to establish an accurate baseline, she says. After that, annual scans will flag changes in the breast tissue.

“A woman’s thermal image is like her thumbprint,” she explains. “It should not change over time.”

Superior Technology

Because thermography offers earlier detection and no physical discomfort or radiation risks, it is popular with people who prefer a preventive, less invasive approach to health care. But there have been various methods of interpretation of thermal images over the technology’s 60-year history, Cann says.

That problem was resolved when BTI emerged as the standard-bearer for thermography. Its cutting-edge technology is supported by the best medical science, she says.

“BTI’s members are trained to the highest degree possible through extensive instruction and continuing education,” she says. “Its standards of education are regulated through the Professional Academy of Clinical Thermology, or PACT, a nonprofit organization. All members must adhere to those guidelines.”

The thermography equipment used by BTI generates higher-quality images than older thermography technologies, and every patient report undergoes three levels of review by BTI’s team of expert interpreters, all of whom are certified through PACT.

The senior reviewer is Dr. Alexander Sepper, a gynecologist with more than 30 years’ experience and a Ph.D. in thermology. Based on their extensive research of thermography, Sepper and BTI founder Anthony Piano, DC, have established new industry guidelines for interpreting thermal images to ensure the highest possible accuracy.

Thermography is quick, safe and painless, but it is not covered by insurance.

Peace of mind has always been its biggest selling point, Cann says. Now she has the best the industry has to offer—and her patients and the community at large do too

 

Location: Integrative Chiropractic and Physical Therapy Solutions, 4657 Gulf Breeze Pkwy., Gulf Breeze, FL. For more information, visit KarenCann.com.