When Follow-Ups Matter More Than the Baseline

Recently, a woman contacted our office upset after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She had come to our office for a baseline breast thermogram 22 months earlier and believed the thermogram had “missed” her cancer.

During the phone call, she told us thermography was a scam and was angry that nothing had been found.

As she spoke, we pulled up her thermography report written by one of our Board-Certified MD interpreting physicians. Right there in the report was an elevated level of concern. The physician had recommended:

• A bilateral breast ultrasound

• Consultation with a Breast Specialist

• A 3-month follow-up thermogram to monitor changes

Unfortunately, none of those recommendations were followed.

This is one of the biggest misunderstandings about thermography and honestly, about breast imaging in general. A thermogram report does not diagnose cancer. A mammogram report does not diagnose cancer. An ultrasound report does not diagnose cancer.

Only a biopsy can determine whether cancer is present.

What imaging tools can do is identify suspicious changes, abnormal patterns, inflammation, vascular activity, or areas that require additional evaluation.

Thermography is designed to monitor physiological change in the body, especially inflammation and angiogenesis (the development of blood vessels that can feed abnormal tissue activity).

That is why follow-up imaging is so important. A baseline is simply a starting point.

The real value comes from comparing images over time to determine whether patterns are:

• Increasing

• Becoming hotter

• Expanding

• Stabilizing

• Improving

Cancer cells can multiply rapidly over a short period of time. That is exactly why physicians often recommend 3-month follow-up imaging when concerning thermal patterns are seen.

In this particular case, the report did not say “everything is fine.” It clearly recommended further evaluation and close monitoring.

Twenty-two months later, after finally seeing a Breast Specialist and receiving an ultrasound, breast cancer was discovered.

So did thermography “miss” the cancer?

Or did the report identify concerning changes long before the diagnosis was finally confirmed?

This story is an important reminder that thermography is not a one-time screening tool. It is a monitoring tool that works best when patients follow recommendations, complete follow-ups, and combine imaging with appropriate medical evaluation when necessary.

The moral of the story: Do not ignore your follow-up recommendations. Do not assume “no diagnosis” means “no problem.” And please, read your reports carefully and follow the physician’s recommendations.

Prevention and early awareness only work when action follows information.