Tourist hotspot
BY ELLIE FORBES reporters@dailyrecord.co.uk
A WOMAN discovered she had breast cancer – after she had a picture taken by a thermal imaging camera at a tourist attraction.
Bal Gill was visiting Camera Obscura and World of Illusions in Edinburgh on a holiday from her home in Slough, Berkshire.
Its thermal camera feature, which was installed in 2009, lets visitors see a visual of all their body hot spots.
But Bal’s picture showed a red heat patch on her left breast.
The 41-year-old, who was visiting with her family in May, noticed no one else in the imaging room had the patch.
When Bal got home, she was flicking through her holiday snaps when she noticed the thermal pictures again. She looked up what it could mean and discovered thermal imaging cameras are often used by oncologists.
Bal was later diagnosed with breast cancer and says without the thermal picture she’d never have known she had it.
She said she saw the patch after she and her family waved their arms and looked at the images created by the thermal camera, adding: “I saw a heat patch coming from my left breast.
“When we got home, I saw a lot of articles about breast cancer and thermal imaging cameras.
“I made an appointment with the doctor and it turns out I do have breast cancer – thankfully really early stages.
“I’ve had two surgeries and have one to go to prevent it from spreading.
“I can’t tell you enough about how my visit to the Camera Obscura changed my life.”
Andrew Johnson, general manager of the attraction, said: “We were really moved when Bal contacted us to share her story.
“We wish her all the best with her recovery and hope to meet her and her family in the future.”