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ALSO SEE: BREAST
THERMOGRAPHY
 Breast Pain & Pathology
Breast health should be on every woman's mind. Did you know that
in the 1970's, 1 in 11 women developed breast cancer in their
lifetime, and today that figure is either 1 in 8 or 1 in 7 depending
on the source? Regardless of the specifics, breast cancer is on the
increase and we are seeing it frequently in women in their 30's,
even their early 30's.
Cancer is being diagnosed at an earlier stage, but not early
enough to make much of a difference for many women. Treatment
is long, painful and is far from consistently successful.
It is interesting to note that acupuncture and herbal medicine are
being used in integrative cancer clinics to treat cancer. One such
clinic is Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Prevention
The other side of the equation is prevention. Breast
health is on a continuum with normal healthy breast tissue at one
end and cancer at the other. Now this is a bit of an over
simplification, but the idea is that the more unhealthy changes a
breast undergoes, the further down the continuum you travel. You
can certainly go from no pathology to cancer and you can slide down
the continuum and never develop breast cancer, but not accepting
unhealthy changes in your breasts is proactive and may very well
prevent cancer.
We see breast health differently than most. Conventional
approaches include screening, typically using mammography, biopsy if
an area seen mammographically is suspicious, and if cancer is found,
surgery, radiation, chemo and biologic therapies may be utilized.
Unfortunately the outcome has improved little over the last few
decades. Little attention is paid to the progression of benign
pathology such as fibrocystic changes, fibroadenomas, pain, etc.
Although these changes in most, but not all cases, are not directly
linked to breast cancer, they are evidence of unhealthy changes
occurring in the breast which should be a red flag that an unhealthy
process is occurring which increases your chance of developing
cancer. To look at this from a Chinese Medical perspective,
the underlying imbalance in your body that is allowing these changes
to occur also is responsible for the development of breast cancer.
Our approach is to recognize the progressing pathology and
imbalances and reverse them. One method we use to evaluate
breast health and screen for breast cancer is thermography. I
encourage you to look at our Breast thermography
section. Resolve the underlying imbalance and we strongly
believe you reduce the chance of breast cancer in your life.
Additionally, why suffer from breast pain, cysts, etc., if you have
the possibility of resolving these pathologic changes?
Unhealthy changes include fibrocystic changes, breast pain which
is considered more than mild, fibroadenomas, and any other changes
in the breast tissue that either occur cyclically (timed with your
menstrual cycle) or are constantly present.
Treatment
Our experience indicates the majority of women with breast
pathology will benefit from appropriate care. In addition to
conventional breast cancer screening provided by your physician, we
offer an assessment which include:
- Breast thermography
- Hormone levels
- Nutritional evaluation
- Thorough medical history from both a Western and Chinese
medical perspective.
- Evaluation of risk factors
Treatment may include Chinese herbal medicine, hormone balancing,
nutritional medicine and a discussion on reducing risk factors.
For a more detailed discussion of breast thermography and its
role in early diagnosis of breast cancer or precancerous conditions
(potentially years before diagnosis by mammography) go to our
Breast Thermography page.
I encourage you to take the necessary steps to improve breast
health and reduce your risk of breast cancer. Cancer has
touched all of us either directly or through someone we care about.
Lets work together to improve breast health (as well as our
health in general. The health of the breast can not be
separated from the health of the entire body, mind and spirit.)
With breast disease as common as it is, and breast cancer on the
increase, isn't it time you became more proactive in your breast
health care? By doing so there is no guarantee cancer won't become
a part of your life, but taking steps now to decrease your risk is
prudent. If you have concerns and wish to discuss this issue further
please call for a no cost consultation.
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