Should I Have a Mammogram?

This is an individual decision which must be made by each patient. Due to the high number of false negatives inherent in mammograms, it is becoming increasingly apparent that no one diagnostic test is sufficient for the assessment of breast disease. Mammographers acknowledge a 15% to 20% false negative rate, a number made higher by women with dense breasts, implants, and scar tissue. False positives in mammograms statistically lead to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary biopsies annually. Due to the fact that thermography is a physiologic study and the results are not affected by these anatomic issues, additional information can be provided which is not readily available on a mammogram. Further, it has been shown that a positive (abnormal) infra-red image is the single most important marker of increased risk for the development of breast cancer.¹