Johannesburg - Young women with a predisposition for breast cancer can benefit from early detection using an imaging scan usually associated with travel security at airports.
Traditional methods of diagnosis – like mammograms or self-examination tests – often mean that the cancer is detected at a fairly advanced stage.
Health specialists emphasise the importance of early detection. This is what the Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (Diti) method does. This innovative procedure is described as a rapid and non-invasive way of testing for breast disorders.
Even though nine out of 10 breast lumps are benign, women and teens are advised to examine their breasts once a month. A mammogram is recommended for women aged 40 onwards every two to three years. South African ranks 50 in the world for breast cancer prevalence.
Local physiotherapist and Diti thermographer Ingrid Takis from the Sport Rehab and Wellness Centre in Bryanston said while mammograms were able to detect cancer, it was more difficult to pick up cancer cells in young women because of the density of breast tissue.
“The incidence of deaths caused by breast cancer is increasing and often found too late. Imagine the many lives that could be saved with early detection. Women no longer have to wait for the cancer to fully develop before they can seek treatment,” Takis said.
She is among the few specialists in Cape Town, Durban, Free State, Pretoria, Stellenbosch and Plettenberg Bay who offer the technique.
She has assisted hundreds of men, women and youngsters.
And how exactly does thermal imaging work? Technicians use a camera and a computer to capture a digitised colour image of the breast. These cameras are similar to those used at airports to scan travellers although the software differs.
Both breasts are examined at different angles. Unlike conventional screening methods, there is no body contact or exposure to radiation light. A medical history is taken. The images are sent online to the American College of Clinical Thermology. Once ready, a report is sent to the patient in less than 24 hours. It’s recommended, among other things, that patients return three months after the first test for a comparison to their first set of results.
Takis said her team was negotating with medical-aid scheme Discovery to have the scans covered and hoped that other schemes would follow suit. Diti is not yet available in public hospitals.
Dr Carol Ann Benn, head of the Breast Unit at the Helen Joseph Hospital and the Netcare Breast Care Centre of Excellence, said women with a genetic predisposition had to be screened fairly early.
Benn said an ultrasound was the most sensitive method of assessing breast tissue in younger women. A 3D automated ultrasound was able to detect up to 3mm lesions.
“By and large, breast cancers are slow-growing. There is no such thing as an emergency mastectomy. Any woman who is told they need an urgent biopsy (radiology) or operation without being offered options such as a double reading of mammograms and time to engage in decisions before a surgical procedure, should go for a second opinion,” she said.
“At this stage women should not replace mammography or ultrasounds with thermography. It cannot be used as a stand-alone for screening or diagnosis of breast cancer. It is not an effective tool in our public hospitals as, like all tests, it needs to be interpreted by a professional trained in the field. Our public sector needs such people.”
Patient Valia Zachariou, 44, had her breasts scanned three months ago. “I’m against radiation. This is why I’d never go for a mammogram. It is invasive,” she said.
A first Diti scan costs R1 050. A follow-up costs R850. The machine and its software is sold for R325 000.
‘No need for worry’
I hadn’t had a mammogram before because I’m not yet 40, the required age.
I’ve done the standard breast routine, but usually wonder if I am doing it correctly, despite all the guidelines. Truth is I find that my breasts are uneven due to the mammary glands and tissues in them.
I was nervous about having my breasts scanned by the Diti camera. I worried whether my bust would be exposed to harmful rays and if the process would be painful. But it wasn’t.
My breasts were scanned in different angles in less than 15 minutes. I didn’t feel a tinge of embarrassment. I was required to fill in a survey about my family history and whether I had lumps or experienced any abnormality in my breasts in the past.
Results are provided within 24 hours, but the waiting was nerve-racking.
Despite having what I like to describe as “a tiny hard stone” on my right breast, which I’ve had since my teens, the report indicated I was okay. It stated that my left breast was at low-risk while my right was at some risk of benign changes.
I'll be back for yet another scan in three months and will continue with the self breast examination. It feels good to be proactive.
It’s not a death sentence, says cancer survivor
If she had only had her check-up much earlier, things would have been different. This is what breast cancer survivor Rachel Pillay believes.
In 2002 the Port Elizabeth resident was diagnosed with stage two of breast cancer. With no family history the news came as a shock for the mother of three.
“I was devastated,” she remembers. So was her family. A few months later, Pillay had a single mastectomy. After her 10th annual check-up, doctors informed the retired nurse the cancer had spread to her other breast.
The day before her 62nd birthday, Pillay had a biopsy and a mastectomy in her other breast.
She wishes she had gone for her check-ups earlier. There has, however, been a bright side to Pillay's double mastectomy. She is now able to assist other cancer patients to regain their confidence and well-being.
“Despite having no breasts, I am content. Time has taught me how to heal. I no longer fear that the cancer will return again. Cancer is not a death threat. You will make it. You are more than a conqueror,” is her message to newly-diagnosed patients. - Saturday Star