Thermography caution

Susan144

I got BC in 2010, had surgery but chose not to do chemo or rads. I tried to do a really clean diet, some supplements, I was a dedicated natural gal! Also avoided mammograms, did thermograms instead. In 2015 I reached the 5-year point and was so excited! But then I felt a lump. Since I was HER2+ I wanted to be very careful, so I told the thermogram woman about the lump. She has many many years of working with cancer, and even works with some oncologists. She did not think the lump felt like cancer, but you can NEVER tell by feel alone. The thermogram came back bright blue: totally clear, not even a hint of warmth around that site! Yay! But the lump felt a bit bigger the next year. I told the thermography woman again, she felt it again, administered the thermogram again. Came back clear again. BUT I just didn't feel like I was clear. I was still suspicious. So I had an ultrasound. During the ultrasound, I looked at the screen and told the technician, "I recognize that snowy pattern. My cancer in 2010 looked exactly like that." Had a biopsy and sure as shooting it was a recurrence of the HER2+ tumor. I did all the treatments this time: chemo, then surgery, then radiation. Will finish up the Herceptin in April. I am LUCKY because it appears that I am now totally cancer-free! The oncologist said that it must have been my clean eating, anti-cancer supplements, etc, that enabled me to go for five without mets from that original tumor. Just a note of caution to all you folks out there. Trust your own instincts.

Love to you all,

Susan

Meg101

Hi Susan! Thanks for the heads up about Thermography.

I'm curious about the supplements and "clean diet" that worked so well for you. I'm still in treatment (finished with surgery & chemo, now doing rads), and have been researching alternatives for post treatment care. So far I've heard good things about DIM. Any info you feel comfortable sharing would be appreciated.

Meg

Susan144

Hi, Meg101 ! You know, I got so confused by conflicting information about this or that is "anti-cancer"! I tried Anti-cancer cookbooks and recipes. Supplements galore, I think I got sick from too much of that! Eventually I just settled on things that were not manufactured as much as possible, organic, fresh if possible. I kind of followed my own intuition; tried things to see how I felt after eating or taking whatever. Not blindly, but after tons of reading I would try stuff that seemed to be successful for others. There was so much stuff that was just plain goofy. I went through a ton of phases.

After the first year, I just settled on meat and vegetables. Period. I was not perfect, (I always had my Starbucks chai with my husband because that was our nightly "date" and we could not imagine life without going for a "date" every evening.) Other than that, it was just plain old food. No added sugar, almost no bread or stuff that had been manufactured. Supplements varied, depending on how I was feeling. Sometimes a vitamin or supplement if I thought I should take it for a few days. I have a store's worth of supplements and vitamins in my cupboards, but I only take what I "feel" might be a good idea.

That's why I said to trust your own instincts. Of course read like mad and study what folks recommend, but do not ignore your own inner wisdom!

That being said, I was LUCKY!! Normally the HER2+ cells that continued to grow for seven years between my surgery in 2010 and diagnosis again in 2017 SHOULD have been in my other organs, brain, lymph system, etc. Frankly the oncologists originally figured that I had to be Stage 4 after all that time to spread. I was touched by the oncologist who acknowledged my attention to caring for my own body and my sincere belief that it was cancer despite what the thermogram indicated, despite the readings of cancer markers in my blood tests. I even had a mammogram in 2015 and it did not pick up the cancerous mass despite the fact that I could feel it!

So the only advice I have is to avoid relying on thermograms, don't rely on any one thing. Sure, DIM is probably a good idea. I took it for a while. Don't remember for how long or when I dropped it.

Best wishes to you. This is a harrowing, awful disease. The emotional toll is excruciating.

Susan

MelissaDallas

This is precisely the reason the FDA has issued warnings that thermography is specifically not approved for breast cancer screening and is not an acceptable substitute for a mammogram. Anyplace that is holding out that it is is in violation of the law

Susan144

Melissa, I did not know that! I am glad that the warning has been issued. Thank you for telling us.

MelissaDallas

For years. Not just recently. If whoever did thermograms on you knew you have a history of breast cancer then shame on them