Breast cancer has been giving some major chills to women globally. It has an exorbitant fatality rate with very fewer survival chances towards the late stages. And hence, screening – the effective procedures to diagnose breast cancer in women before it becomes unmanageable.
Women above the age of 60 who have battled with chronic obesity half their life are at the highest risk of breast cancer. Genes too, have a part to play. However, despite the risks, women either young or old, fail to understand that they can all develop breast cancer at any stage of their lives.
The only way to survive is early detection. The only 2 best breast cancer screening procedures that are recommended by oncologists include Mammogram and MRI. These tests can nab breast cancer while it’s still new. You might also want to be careful about the following symptoms that might be the signs of cancer’s onset.
- Painful Breasts – Breast pain close to periods is quite normal. But, if you start experiencing acute pain randomly at any time of the month, and especially if the pain is persistent, you might want to consult a doctor.
- Swelling or Lumps – Do not ignore the presence of lumps anywhere in the breasts. In fact, lumps without pain are more of an indication of cancer than the painful ones.
- Nipple Retraction – It is the first visible sign that shouldn’t be ignored. If your nipples develop an inward pull, it might be an indication of breast cancer.
- Nipple Discharge – It calls for an immediate screening if the nipples start oozing discharge (except for milk in lactating mothers).
That being said, breast cancer, like any other cancer, is a silent killer. So, do not wait for the symptoms to show up because they might never. Discuss your concerns with your doctor, share the details if your family has had a history of cancer of any kind. The doctor will then suggest the screening that would be either Mammogram or MRI.
What Are These Tests?
Mammogram test or breast X-ray is the only available option that can detect breast cancer at its onset and increase the survival chances.
MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging uses magnetic waves and radio waves to screen the breasts and identify whether you have breast cancer or not.
Once you’re identified with breast cancer, the course of treatment would depend upon the stage and the type of cancer. The ones that are widely used are listed below.
- Surgery – Non-malignant cancer or cancer at its early stage can be operated. Doctors surgically remove the cancerous cells and tissues before they can spread.
- Chemotherapy – Chemo is the procedure of shrinking, even better killing, cancer cells to hamper their spread.
- Hormone Therapy – Breast cancer is one of the few cancer types that can be treated with hormone therapy. The body is kept deprived of the hormones that cancer needs to grow and expand.
Other than these, there are 2 more therapies for breast cancer treatment – radiation therapy and biological therapy.
On a closing note, prevention from breast cancer begins with self-examination. If you know how your breasts feel under normal circumstances, then you’ll be able to spot even a minor change that can help in an early diagnosis.
