Life-saving discovery at tourist venue
● Thermal image prompts visitor to see doctor – she has since had a mastectomy
A visitor to Edinburgh discovered she had breast cancer thanks to a thermal imaging camera at a tourist attraction.
Bal Gill made the life-changing discovery when she visited Camera Obscura & World of Illusions in the Royal Mile in May this year on a trip to the city with her husband and children.
The 41-year-old from Slough had a mastectomy in August and is currently undergoing treatment but is hopeful she will have the all-clear later this year as it was caught at such an early stage.
A thermal imaging camera at a popular Edinburgh tourist attraction revealed that a woman visiting the capital has breast cancer.
Bal Gill made the life-changing discovery when she visited Camera Obscura & World of Illusions in the Royal Mile in May this year on a trip to the city with her husband and children.
During the visit she entered the room which had a thermal camera, which lets visitors see a visual of all their body hot spots.
Mrs Gill said: “The Thermal Camera is like a big screen. My husband and two kids went in and did as normal families do and waved our arms around, I saw the heat patch on my left breast, at the time I thought it was weird but I assumed it was my heart because it is in a similar place.
“I looked around and no one in my family had it, and then another lady came in and she didn’t have it either but I just took a video and we carried on with the rest of our day.”
When she returned home to Slough, the 41-year-old began investigating the heat spot online and learned that thermal imaging cameras are often used as a tool by oncologists, especially in the US.
She added: “I had had an infection at the beginning of the year which resulted in a mammogram, but had the all clear, but I immediately made an appointment with my doctor.”
She brought the thermal image to her appointment and soon after was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy in August and is currently undergoing treatment but is hopeful she will have the all clear later this year as it was caught at such an early stage.
She said: “What prompted me to go to the doctor was that something about it in the first place just didn’t feel quite right.”
Andrew Johnson, general manager of Camera Obscura & World of Illusions, said: “We did not realise that our Thermal Camera had the potential to detect life-changing symptoms in this way.
“It’s amazing that Bal noticed the difference in the image and crucially acted on it promptly. We wish her all the best with her recovery and hope to meet her and her family in the future.”
Weilin Wu, Cancer Research UK health information officer, said: “No one knows your body better than you. Listen to it and act by speaking to your doctor if you notice anything that isn’t normal for you or doesn’t go away. In most cases it won’t be cancer – but if it is, finding it early can make a real difference.”