World Cancer Day: Signs and symptoms of breast cancer you should lookout for besides the lump
The exact cause of breast cancer is not known. However, several factors affect the risk of developing breast cancer.
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FollowBengaluru: Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among Indian women and accounts for 27% of all cancers in women. About 1 in 28 women are likely to develop breast cancer during their lifetime. In urban areas the ratio is 1 in 22 as compared to the rural areas where 1 in 60 women develop breast cancer. The incidence begins to rise in early thirties and peaks at the age of 50 – 64 years.
What causes Breast Cancer?
The exact cause of breast cancer is not known. However, several factors affect the risk of developing breast cancer. The chances of developing the disease depends on a combination of the genes and bodies, lifestyle, life choices and the environment.
Being a woman and age are the two biggest risk factors. The other risk factors are:
Early puberty, late menopause, family and personal history of breast cancer, ethnicity - a white woman is more likely to develop breast cancer than a black, Asian or mixed-race woman. Ashkenazi Jews and Icelandic women are at a higher risk of carrying inherited faults in breast cancer genes, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2, which are known to increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Life choices, Lifestyle and Environment: Factors that increase the risk of breast cancer are: Weight gain, lack of exercise, alcohol, hormone replacement therapy, the combined oral contraceptive pill, ionizing radiation, radiotherapy, stress and possibly shift work.
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding reduce the risk. Age and number of pregnancies affect the risk. The earlier the pregnancies and the more the number of pregnancies, the lesser is the risk of cancer
Breastfeeding slightly reduces your risk of breast cancer and the longer you breastfeed, the more your risk of breast cancer is reduced.
Why is early detection of breast cancer important?
According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. Early detection includes doing monthly breast self-exams and scheduling regular clinical breast exams and mammograms.
Symptoms and Signs of Breast Cancer:
Many times, breast cancer symptoms are not noticeable without a professional screening, but some symptoms can be caught early.
· Changes in how the breast or nipple looks and feels
· Unexplained change in the breast size or shape that is recent. Some women may have long standing asymmetry of the breasts which is normal
· Dimpling of the breast
· Skin of the breast, areola, or nipple that becomes scaly, red, or swollen or may have ridges or pitting resembling the skin of an orange
· Nipple that may be inverted or turned inwards
· Nipple discharge – clear or bloody
· A change in how the breast or nipple looks or feels
· Nipple tenderness or a lump or thickening in or near the breast or underarm area
· A change in the skin texture or an enlargement of pores in the skin of the breast
· A lump in the breast (it’s important to remember that all lumps should be investigated by a healthcare professional, but not all lumps are cancerous)
What can I do to reduce my risk of Breast Cancer?
Unfortunately, there is nothing that you can do to change most of the above risk factors. Lifestyle modifications detailed above should be made.
But all women should be breast aware – this means knowing what is normal for you so that you are aware as soon as something changes. Get into the habit of looking at and feeling your breasts with a breast self-examination at least once a month. This will help you to notice any change. The sooner you notice a change and seek medical advice, the better, because if cancer is found early, treatment is more likely to be successful. Undergoing regular examinations by your doctor and getting a mammogram done will also help detect cancer early.
(Author — Dr Prathima Reddy, MBBS, MRCOG (London), FRCOG (London), FACOG (USA) is the director, senior obstetrician and gynecologist at Fortis La Femme Hospital, Richmond Road, Bengaluru)
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