Corinne T reports: I wanted to mention that I recently, December 10, 2003, had my first breast thermogram. I know thermograms have been discussed here on the list before, but I thought I'd post a little about them in case anyone wonders what they are. I also thought I'd say a little about what I experienced. By the way, I understand that there aren't too many places in the United States that offer thermograms. And, I'm sorry, I don't know anything at all about the availability of thermograms in other countries--if someone else knows, I hope you will post something. Breast thermograms are infrared thermal images of the breasts. An infrared camera is used to photograph the heat coming from your skin. The heat is then measured and analyzed. If there is something wrong with the breasts, (for example, an infection, fibrocystic disease or cancer) then abnormal patterns of heat will be detected. The procedure is non-invasive: nothing enters or touches the body. I live in southern California, not too far from Los Angeles. I chose to have the thermogram at one of Dr. William Cockburn's offices. I thought Dr. Cockburn was very friendly and professional. He was easy to talk to. His office had a welcoming, comfortable and professional atmosphere. Prior to having the thermogram I had to sit on a chair disrobed from the waist up in order to allow my skin to cool to room temperature. This was for no more than 10 minutes. Then images of my breast and chest were taken. (I only have one breast as I had a mastectomy slightly over a year ago.) Next I was asked to hold an ice bag in my hands for one minute. Cooling the hands like this produces a neurologic response in the breasts which cools them (cancer as a rule, does not cool - healthy breasts do.) More images were taken. Then the procedure was over. After I was dressed, Dr. Cockburn discussed the results with me. He will also be mailing them to me. By the way, none of this took very long. I don't think I was at Dr. Cockburn's office for more than an hour. I thought I'd share my results with you, too. I am pleased to report that the results showed my breast is normal. :-) We think that the other side of my chest is okay, too. It is difficult to tell because of the heat patterns given off by the scar. Dr. Cockburn recommended I have another thermogram in 6 months. We can then compare the two thermograms and see if there have been any changes. (However, I'm happy to say that Dr. Cockburn said he isn't worried about that side of my chest.) If anyone is interested in more information on thermograms, one web site you might want to visit is Dr. Cockburn's. It's at: http://www.breastthermography.org/ . One article at his web site that I found particularly interesting is called Breast Thermography - a Responsible Second Look. It's located at: http://www.breastthermography.org/athand.htm Before closing I'd like to mention one other thing. In discussing thermograms with Dr. Cockburn, he stressed the fact that before having a thermogram you should make sure that the technicians and doctors at the thermography facility you go to are board certified. I realize that they aren't offered in very many places. However, I did want to mention, for those interested, that Dr. Cockburn's web site contains a short listing of thermography centers. The list is at http://www.breastthermography.org/location.htm. I also wanted to let you know about another web site that has information on thermograms. It is the web site for the International Academy of Clinical Thermology (IACT) and its URL is: http://www.iact-org.org/. This web site, too, has a list of thermography centers. The URL is: http://www.iact-org.org/links.html. I looked at both lists, and here are the countries that are mentioned on either one or the other (but not necessarily on both): Australia Canada England France New Zealand U.S. The states mentioned within the U.S. are: Alaska Arizona California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii IllinoisIndiana Kentucky, Louisiana Michigan Nebraska Texas Washington Wisconsin Dr. William Cockburn's office email: thermodoc@verizon.net Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.