Be Breast Aware:
About Female Breast
The Female Breast is a pair of fat containing structures which contain glands which secrete milk to feed in infant.
The breast is an important part of the human anatomy and mutilating it can often leave a woman depressed with a feeling that she has lost her femininity. The good news is this, that there is hardly any disease today including cancer that requires the breast to be removed. Regular self-examination and screening are all that you need to ensure that your breasts remain healthy through your lifetime.
Breast Symptoms:
Breast Pain:
Though pain is the commonest symptom most women have in the breast, It is hardly ever a dangerous symptom. It is common for women to have tenderness in their breasts one or two weeks before their periods. It can rarely be because of an infection specially in a lactating mother, other than that pain is the least commonly associated symptom with breast cancer.
Breast Lump:
A lump in the breast does not always mean cancer. A mobile lump in a young woman is almost always a non-cancerous tumor. This can easily be removed if necessary through a pinhole surgery with no scar.
A lump beyond the age of 40 however can often be cancer, especially when it is painless. But the good news is that today cancer breast in the early stages is almost always curable. The key secret to a cure in cancer of the breast is early detection, thus regular screening of the breast is the mandatory to detect cancer even before you feel the lump.
Breast Discharge:
Watery, greenish or brownish discharge from the nipples, noticed only on squeezing the nipple are all common and rarely dangerous. All they need is counselling from an expert in breast diseases like the team at our breast Center.
A spontaneous watery or bloody discharge from the nipple, especially when it is seen only on one breast is worrisome and needs immediate medical attention. Even bloody discharge did not always be dangerous often these need a minor surgery or nothing at all however, rarely it could be cancer and again in the early stages are curable.
Breast Screening:
Mammography is a sophisticated x-ray taken of your breast with a dedicated machine that can detect cancer at an extremely early stage. Mammography is not painful like it was once, modern machines have ensured the pain is not more than a tight squeeze. Every woman after the age of 40 is expected to come for a Mammography once a year. There can be some changes in these protocols if the patient has a strong family history of cancer.
Mammography does not require any special preparation however, because the breast can be tender a few days before your menstrual cycle it’s ideal to do this in the week after your period, other than that the only other contraindication is if the breast is very tender and painful or if you are pregnant.
If the mammography is normal, you are sent home immediately but often an ultrasound scan is also done to ensure that things are totally in order. However, if there is a suspicious area or lump doctors at the breast Center may do a biopsy which again is practically painless and performed under the local anesthesia. Based on the report, you will be advised what is appropriate and like we mentioned earlier early cancer when detected during Mammography is almost always curable.
Breast Treatment Options
- Medical Treatment
Drugs and medications that cure or control cancer including chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted therapy.
Based on the type of the breast cancer, you will be treated with the drugs that either destroy cancer cells (Chemotherapy) or act on hormone receptors (Hormone therapy) which has minimal side effects and some of them work directly at the receptors at the cancer cells.
- Surgery
Continues to be the cornerstone for cancer breast and in early cancer this may be the only treatment you require.
Will you lose your breast at surgery?
Today in early stages of cancer, the breast is never removed. Thus in most cases nobody except you and your close associates will ever know that you had a surgery in addition, the plastic surgery team and the surgeons who operate on the breast will also ensure that cosmetically your breast looks nearly as good as it was before surgery.
- Radiotherapy
Modern radiotherapy centers like the one in a hospital is very precise with hardly any side-effects, especially to heart and lungs. Radiotherapy is often combined both with surgery and chemotherapy or may be given without chemotherapy depending on the type and stage of your cancer. It usually lasts for anything from a week to five weeks most patients will tolerate this therapy without any difficulty at all. Again, doctors at the radiotherapy center will take you through this journey with compassion and love to ensure that they are with you at all times.
Self Examination :
Step 1:
Look at your breasts in the mirror
First look at them with your arms by your sides. Next, raise your arms and look at your breasts closely again. This is the easiest way to see if something looks wrong or different. Examine your nipples and surrounding skin closely. If you see any skin changes such as dimpling, puckering, redness, a change in your nipple, or anything coming out of them (and you’re not breast feeding), schedule a visit with your doctor.
Step 2:
Feel your breasts while lying down
Use the opposite hand to examine each breast by feeling the breast tissue systematically with two fingertip pads. Use small circular motions, pressing firmly, and covering the entire area of the breast from outer arm pits to the nipples, across to the space in between your breasts, and vertically from your collarbone to below the breasts.
Step 3:
This is easiest done in the shower, where you may find a lump, especially with a little soap over the area which makes fingers slide over the tissue and lumps easier to feel.
Video-Guide:
Check out the video for a step-by-step
https://youtu.be/UyePcbnoOLQ
Myths & Facts about Female Breast
- I do not have any family history of breast cancer. Why should I then get a screening test?
Not all breast cancers are hereditary. In fact, they account for only 10% of all breast cancer. About 70-80% of woman when affected will be the first person in their family to get diagnosed of breast cancer. The biggest risk factor is being a woman and getting older. So, it is necessary for all women irrespective of family history to get their mammogram which is the only accepted screening test from 40 years of age.
- I am not old enough to get tested for breast cancer.
It is true that getting older does increase the risk of getting breast cancer. However, in India, about half of the women affected with breast cancer are less than 50 years of age. Hence the screening for breast cancer in India is recommended from 40 years of age.
- I have a lump in my breast, but it doesn’t hurt me. Why should I meet a doctor and
investigated?
It is very sad that many women believe that painless lumps in the breast are non-cancerous. But the fact is that most of the breast cancer is painless to start with and discomfort is felt only when the cancer is locally advanced. Hence it is very important be aware that it is the painless lumps which needs the most immediate medical attention.
- I don’t have any breast related problems or complaints. Why should I get myself tested with a mammogram?
Breast cancer when early and in pre-invasive stage may not cause any symptoms. It is at this stage the breast cancer when detected, can be cured completely. Screening study like mammogram is aimed to detect the breast cancer in such early stage which has an impact of the survival.
- I am a fit woman, have breast fed my children and so I will not get breast cancer.
Yes, being fit, adapting a healthy lifestyle and breast feeding does reduce the risk of getting breast cancer, however, cannot prevent it. Early detection is the key
- Mammogram causes radiation.
There is no need to worry about the radiation due to a mammogram which is negligible. It only amounts to 7 weeks of background radiation which our body is exposed to when living in this Earth. Mammogram is the only accepted screening test universally to detect early breast cancer for general population.
- Mammogram is very painful.
It is not true especially with the advancements in technology. It only causes a momentary discomfort which is bearable. The breast compression during the test is very crucial for the radiologist to read your mammogram.
- I am scared to get a mammogram done. What if they find a cancer?
The breast cancer when detected early during the mammogram also can be cured. There is also good news in detecting the breast cancer early. They are usually small, and you may not have to lose your entire breast when treating such small cancers and all you need is to remove a small part of the breast along with the cancerous lump.
- I had my mammogram done and was advised biopsy. Do I have breast cancer?
Not all breast lumps are cancerous and most of them would be non-cancerous breast lumps. But you can be sure of it only after appropriate testing which will usually be a biopsy. In the biopsy testing a small sample from the breast lump would be acquired usually under image guidance.
- I had my mammogram done last year and was normal. Why should I get it done again?
It’s great news that you had a normal mammogram. However, that does not guarantee you that you will not get breast cancer in future. Hence it is important to get the screening mammogram regularly done every year. This increases the chance of finding the cancer early if at all you get and get cured of it.
- I noticed a whitish discharge from the nipple when I performed self-breast examination. Can this be a cancer?
Most of the nipple discharge are not worrying especially when it is noticed only when you squeeze the nipple and when seen on both sides. However it’s safe to consult a doctor to be sure that is not worrisome.
- My daughter who is 18 years has a firm lump in the breast. Can this be a cancer and should get this removed by surgery?
The most common breast lump in this younger age is usually a non-cancerous lump called fibroadenoma. It can be left alone or if concerning can be removed through a pin hole procedure called vacuum assisted excision under local anaesthesia which will leave no scar.
- Have small breasts will it affect lactation?
The size of the breast has no relationship with lactational ability. Having a healthy diet and adequate fluid and calm mind will help in lactation.
- I have small breasts is there a medicine to help?
Breast size runs in families like our height and complexion and facial features. No medicine or cream can help you to increase the size of the breast. If you are concerned, a cosmetic surgery can help.
- I have large breasts is there a surgery to help me?
Yes, cosmetic surgery called reduction mammoplasty can help to reduce the breast size if its concerning.
- Do breast implants cause cancer?
Having breast implants does not increase the risk of breast cancer.
- One of my breasts look larger than the other, is this dangerous?
It is normal to have to have mild difference in the size of the breasts. But if you have disproportionately larger breast on one side, it is better to get checked to rule out a diffuse lump and such significant differences in size can be corrected by cosmetic surgery.
- I have been having pain in one breast for the last few days. Is this dangerous?
Breast pain can be quite common before your periods. Muscular pain due to strain or even when starting a new exercise can mimic breast pain. It is safe to consult a doctor as infection in the breast can also present with breast pain.
- Is tattooing and putting rings the breast dangerous?
Tattooing or piercing in the breast does not increase the incidence of breast cancer.