Breast Cancer

That's the bad news. The good news is that with early detection of symptoms, survival rates are very good.

The risk of getting breast cancer is generally higher among women over 50, women with a family history or previous history, women who had radiation therapy in the chest region, women who started their periods before 12 years old, women who had menopause after 50 years old, women who never had children or had them age 30 or older, or women with genetic mutation. Is anyone still left OUT of this equation?

Symptoms

The cancer tumor has the following symptoms: lump or thickening that appears on the breast or underarm, changes in the breast's shape, nipple turned inwards followed by colorless discharge, red or scaled skin or nipple, or ridges on the skin.

If a woman experiences any of these symptoms, it does not necessarily mean she has breast cancer. In such a case she should undergo a personal check-up.

It is estimated that 95% of cases are detected through personal check-up. The personal check-up includes checking for lumps in the breasts after each menstrual period, puckering the skin, and checking for nipple retraction or discharge.

For consistent results, women should do a personal check-up at the same time every month. Various other techniques such as mammography, thermography, ultrasonography, computerized tomography scan etc, can also help in detection.

Treatments

Treatments include surgery that removes cancerous tissues, with breast conservation therapy (BCT) being one such surgery. Other treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and biologic therapy. Radiotherapy is a common treatment, and radiation treatment and chemotherapy may follow surgery to ensure the destruction of the stray cancer cells.

Even after undergoing many or all of these breast cancer treatment measures, unfortunately almost half the women suffer from a recurrence of the disease.

For more information on symptoms and early detection, see the National Breast Cancer Foundation

To read a personal reflection of mine about the tragedy that is breast cancer, go to A personal reflection

Return from Breast Cancer to Womens Health Problems

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