An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

It’s an adage – originally coined by Benjamin Franklin about fire safety – that is now oft-used advice when discussing health.

When it comes to breast health, most women understand the importance of prevention, and are probably already familiar with the traditional wisdom: eat healthy, exercise, limit alcohol, conduct self-exams and, once you reach a certain age, go in for a biannual mammogram.

While those certainly are valuable tips, there is a way to achieve what women’s health expert and New York Times-bestselling author Dr. Christiane Northrup calls “true prevention” through thermography.

And when you’re talking about what could be the difference between achieving wellness and battling sickness, the difference between “an ounce of prevention” and “true prevention” is priceless.

“With thermography as your regular screening tool, it’s likely that you would have the opportunity to make adjustments to your diet, beliefs and lifestyle to transform your cells before they became cancerous,” Dr. Northrup writes about digital infrared thermal imaging.

The technology - administered locally by Beacon Thermography, Inc. - is a non-invasive tool used to identify changes in the body over time. For women concerned with breast health, thermography can begin detecting vascular changes eight to 10 years earlier than mammography.

Using a digital infrared camera that measures your body’s surface temperature, certified clinical thermographers and sisters Shelly Laine, Cecilia Laine-Meinhold and Tanis Clark at Beacon Thermography create a “digital map” of your body, showing heat patterns that could be a sign of a condition or abnormality. 

While x-rays, mammograms and MRIs are only able to provide information on structures within the body, medical thermal imaging can pick up warning signs like inflammation or angiogenesis – increased blood supply to a growing tumor.

Or, simply put by Dr. Northrup, “Studies show that a thermogram identifies precancerous or cancerous cells earlier, produces unambiguous results, which cuts down on additional testing, and doesn’t hurt the body.”

Those are just a few of the many reasons internationally recognized medical leaders like Dr. Northrup are increasingly endorsing thermography as the best breast cancer screening method available. She also points to the fact that it is a painless procedure that emits no radiation. In fact, it’s safe enough for pregnant or nursing women, since it is only an image of your body’s heat.

Thermography is also able to more easily eliminate worry in women with dense or surgically enhanced breasts because it doesn’t identify fibrocystic tissue, implants or scars as troublesome areas that require more testing. And it can detect cell changes around the armpit, an area mammography cannot screen as thoroughly.

That doesn’t mean thermography is in competition with mammography. Quite the opposite, actually.

Once thermal images are captured, they are reviewed by medical doctors, who are also board-certified thermologists. Taking into consideration a patient’s symptoms, health history and thermography results, the doctor will then report results and may make recommendations. 

Often, in the case of abnormal screening results, the recommendation is to schedule a mammogram, ultrasound, x-ray or blood work. Mammograms and thermography are very different tests but, together, they can help accurately diagnosis breast cancer as early as possible. 

Of the many advantages to thermography, perhaps the most significant is one Dr. Northrup points to – it consistently provides results that are unique to you and your body, ensuring you receive “true prevention” and real peace of mind.

Let Shelly and her team at Beacon provide you with the benefits of well-being through thermography.  They offer screening in the following locations:  Elite Chiropractic, Landfall Shopping Center, 1319 Military Cutoff Road, Unit L; McKay Healing Arts Center, Wilmington; Shaver Chiropractic, Wilmington; Cross Creek Commons, Leland; and Health Touch NC LLC, Durham. Visit www.beaconthermography.com or call them at (910) 803-2150.