Breast Cancer

Cancer happens when cells in a part of the body grow out of control. Actually, there are many types of cancer; they all come about because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.

Different kinds of cancer can act very differently. For example, lung cancer and breast cancer are very different diseases. They grow at different rates and they respond to different medical treatments. That's why people with cancer need treatment that is aimed at their kind of cancer.


The risk factors for breast cancer

A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chances of getting a disease. Having a risk factor, or even several, does not necessarily mean that a person will get the disease. Some women with one or more risk factors never develop breast cancer, while most women with breast cancer have no apparent risk factors. Even when a woman with breast cancer has a risk factor, there is no way to prove that it actually caused her cancer.

There are different kinds of risk factors. Some, like a person's age, race or family history, can't be changed. Others are linked to cancer-causing factors in the environment, like environmental pollution. Still others are related to personal choices, such as smoking, drinking and diet.


The symptoms of breast cancer

The earliest sign of breast cancer is an abnormality that may be detected by a mammogram before the patient can feel anything.

After breast cancer has grown to the point where physical symptoms exist, breast changes may include a lump, thickening, swelling, dimpling, and skin irritation, distortion, retraction, scariness, and pain, tenderness of the nipple or nipple discharge. Breast ache is commonly due to benign conditions, and is unusually the primary sign of breast cancer.


Three parts of breast self-examination

• Stand in front of the mirror with your hands at your sides. Look for a lump, dimpling, pucker, rash or nipple change. Your breast should hang freely and be symmetrical. It is generally for one breast to be slightly larger than the other. Repeat with your hands behind your neck. Then place your hands on your hips and flex your chest muscles. Lastly, squeeze slowly your nipple between your thumb and forefinger, checking for a sticky or obviously bloody discharge. A drop or two of clear or milky fluid is normal.

• In the shower: Wet, soapy skin makes this step easier. Lift up one hand behind your head and with your other hand; hold the middle fingers flat against your breast. Beginning in your armpit, make small circular motions feeling up your arm, then your chest wall and your entire breast. You can go either up and down as in a picket fence or in a circle. The important thing is to check your entire breast. Then switch hands and do the same thing on the other side.

• Lying down: Put a pillow under your shoulder to help flatten the breast evenly over your chest. This allows you to examine the breast tissue by pressing against the firm chest wall. Place your hands above your head and with your other hand begin at the armpit, making small circular motions. Use light, medium and deep pressure. After each series of circles, move one finger's width and begin again. Cover the entire chest wall up to your collarbone, your armpit and your entire breast. Change arms and repeat on the other side.