New Screening put my mind at ease after battling with Cancer
A new quick and easy thermal scan can change the lives of thousands of Irish sufferers.
Mary Coleman has survived breast cancer but lived with the fear that it could return until she discovered a new high-tech screening.
The 50-year-old used to travel to London for the procedure, called Medical Thermography, despite her fear of flying.
Mum-of-two Mary from Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2005.
She says: “It was such a shock to discover I had abnormal, pre-cancerous cells. I’d had a mammogram 18 months earlier and I was fine.
“All the other women in work were fretting because they had to go for a mammogram but I thought I was home free.”
Mary’s husband Gerard, her daughter Kerrie (27) and son Gordon (21), were shocked to discover Mary had cancer.
She says: “I had never been sick in my whole life. I suppose nobody expects to have cancer.”
After her mammogram Mary was given an appointment in a Dublin hospital and a date was set for surgery.
She says: “They removed the abnormal tissue and some good tissue too and I was left with a hollow in my breast.
“I was very traumatised after the operation, the shock is still with me.”
“I know the hollow is there but you wouldn’t know to look at me and I just have to be careful what clothes I wear.”
However, Mary was soon told she needed another operation as all the dangerous tissue had not been removed.
She says: “They needed to do another operation which was bit of a shock.”
When Mary went back to the hospital for an appointment after surgery she felt medics gave her a mixed reaction. Mary says: “When I arrived at the hospital the nurses and doctors seemed to be thrilled with my progress but then I was left in the waiting room for what seemed like forever.
“After a while the doctor called me and said that the pathologist was a cautious about my results and there was a possibility of a third operation.
“I was horrified but the doctor said in his opinion I had the all clear but I would have to have radiotherapy after Christmas.
“The statistics for my condition, which is called Ductal Carcinoma Insitu (DCIS) of the breast area, are really good so I was really hopeful.”
She says: “Going back to work helped me with the shock. It was lovely to get back to normal and it meant that I wasn’t moping around the house.”
But as Mary agonised over what to do she discovered Infrared Medical Thermography.
Mary had always been terrified of flying but she decided to face her fears so she could have the screening.
She says: “It was only available in England at the time so I flew to Harley Street but now you can get it here in Naas, I hadn’t flown in 12 years but this was important.”
Medical Thermography is a non-invasive breast screening which uses an infrared camera to detect early signs of breast cancer.
It can detect cancers earlier than mammograms or self-examination as the camera picks up subtle changes in breast reassurance.
“All I had to do was stand in front of a camera and it takes a picture of my breast and then another picture when I am holding something cold, to reduce my body temperature.
“If a part of the body is red in the picture then there is something wrong so the area where my lymph nodes were was still red because they were healing. It also showed up a red spot in my mouth where I’d recently had dental problems but nothing else.
“I knew then that I was free of cancer so I decided no to go ahead with the radiography.”
The camera takes a thermal image of the breasts, which shows up any tissue abnormalities.
She says: “It’s brilliant and it gives me peace of mind so I know I am well. I think I made the right decision for me and I feel well.
“I am still coming to terms with what happened me but I would recommend it to anyone, even women in their 30s.”
The Irish Centre of Integrated Medicine (ICIM) is the only centre in Ireland which provides this services.
Felipe Reitz of the ICIM says: “Medical Thermography is not a substitute for mammography. It’s a compliment to help people be preventative. The two technologies should work together.
“It’s important to have the infrared Medical Thermography as a method for screening and if something sinister shows we always advise patients to go to their medical professionals and seek other types of diagnostics.
“Medical Thermography works on a physiological level and mammograms and other methods work on anatomical level. So they compliment each other.”
The ICIM is in Johnstown, Naas, Co. Kildare. http://www.icim.ie/ PH: 045-844819
- ICIM Medics Breast Assessment
- Breast Cancer Re-Evaluatio Methods Ireland Article
- Breast Cancer Article
- Breast Pathology and Thermal Imaging Article
Tags: Breast Check, Detect Cancer, Thermography
One Response
Liz
Friday, 12. December 2008
Your article on Mary Coleman and Medical Thermography has been approved for the upcoming Blog Carnival “Cancer Stories.”