What to Expect During Your Thermography Appointment

therm8Our breast thermography includes 12 images: 6 of the head, neck, back, and thyroid, as well as 6 of your breasts. (We are involved with research on breast cancer, so you get extra images for the price of 6.)

Full body thermography includes 36 images or more.
 

Before Your Appointment

  • Do not use deodorant or lotions.
  • Do not smoke for an hour before your appointment.
  • Try not to wear a bra (it leaves a mark).
  • If you have a bad sunburn, it’s best to postpone imaging.
  • Imaging is not harmful if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. But you may want to delay imaging if you’re breastfeeding, as breastfeeding creates inflammation in the breasts. The exception: If you have found a lump that needs to be evaluated.

At Your Appointment

You’ll be asked to disrobe from your navel up for breast thermography, completely for full body imaging. The room is a constant 71 degrees. While your body acclimates to the temperature, you will complete paperwork.

Breast images take about 3 minutes to complete; full body, about 15 minutes. You will review the images and may be asked additional questions to help get the best information possible from them. We want to give the best information we can to the medical doctor who will read the images.

The whole procedure takes about 30 minutes for the breast series, one hour for the full body series.

Important Information about Your Thermography Scans

After we take your thermography images, we send them to Electronic Medical Interpretation – just like a doctor taking an x-ray may send it to a radiologist for interpretation.

MDs who are trained to read thermographic images create a report that goes directly to you. All EMI doctors are licensed radiologists, oncologists, OB/GYNs, or family practice physicians.

No one in this office sees or reads these reports – although if you have a full body series done, we will ask for a copy so we can help you decipher the findings. There is just so much information. It can really be overwhelming!

You should share your reports with your MD, DO, or DC so they can interpret the findings and order additional testing if needed (e.g., blood work, doppler, ultrasound, EKG, etc.).

Although these reports are not designed for self-care, we urge you to read your report so you can have the fullest possible understanding of your current health.