Breast cancer awareness month: Early detection can save lives

Most women know their breasts well, even if they don’t do regular self-exams, and know to be on the lookout for lumps. Breast cancer today is not what it was 20 years ago. There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful. Survival rates are climbing, thanks to greater awareness, more early detection, and advances in treatment. 

For so many women, there is no more dreaded disease than breast cancer. Breast cancer elicits fears related to loss of body image and loss of life.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), a time to increase awareness and promote research into its cause, prevention, and treatment.

Breast cancer today is not what it was two decades ago. There are many reasons to be hopeful presently. Breast cancer does not always mean losing your breast and life, thanks to greater awareness, early detection, and advances in treatment.

Gone are the days when young women, for instance, ignored symptoms that could point to cancer.

Breast cancer also affects men. Male breast cancer accounts for about 1% of all breast cancers.

The earlier breast cancer is found, the easier it is to treat and increase the chances of extended survival.

Women know their breasts well and may discover a breast problem on their own. A painless lump in the breast. Changes in breast size or shape; Swelling in the armpit; Nipple changes or discharge; A key to increasing survival is to see your doctor with the emergence of any symptom.

Although women often worry about breast pain, most women with breast pain do not have breast cancer.

Only about 6% of women with breast cancer have breast pain as their first sign of cancer. Breast skin may become thick, red, and may look pitted — like an orange peel.

The area may also feel warm or tender and have small bumps that look like a rash.

Family history of first siblings should drive you to any breast clinic for screening; Clinical examination with special breast X-rays (Mammograms, MRI), Sonography of the breast often can detect tumours before they are large enough to feel.

Although not without criticism, the American Cancer Society recommends mammograms annually beginning at age 40 for women at average risk.

Each woman should check with a doctor to find out what screening schedule is right for her, considering the potential benefits and harms from screening.

It was widely recommended that women check their own breasts once a month. But the current thinking is that it’s more important to know your breasts and be aware of any changes, rather than checking them on a regular schedule.

What if you find a lump? First, don’t panic. Eighty percent of breast lumps are not cancerous. Lumps often turn out to be harmless cysts or tissue changes related to your menstrual cycle, especially in teenage girls.

But you should let your doctor know right away if you find anything unusual in your breast. Testing can give you peace of mind. The only sure way to determine whether a lump is cancer is to perform a biopsy -taking a tissue sample for further examination in the lab, sometimes through a small needle.

Sometimes surgery is done to take part of or the entire lump for testing.

There’s no doubt that cancer is a life-changing experience. The treatments can wear you out, but nowadays results are not that gloomy.

When you’re told that you have breast cancer, it’s natural to be worried, feel a sense of isolation, and wonder what may have caused the disease.

But no one knows the exact causes of breast cancer.

The chances that a particular woman with a breast lump could be cancerous depend on many factors, including a woman’s past medical/family history, physical examination, hormonal status, and mammogram /ultrasound results.

Some of the most important risk factors are known to women, while some are still under scrutiny.

October is spent throughout the world as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For more information, awareness on early detection, risk factors, and prevention of breast cancer, please visit any breast clinic at your earliest convenience.

The author is a breast cancer surgeon, a member of the International Tumour Board, and campaigns for the Breast Cancer Awareness program.