Are you paying attention to your breast?
You cannot block or prevent breast cancer from affecting you but can listen to your breast, sending you all the symptoms and detect it sooner. The sooner you detect it, the better you can treat it. If you observe new breast changes, fix an appointment with the doctor and treat yourself.
While you are in treatment to increase your breast and examine changes in its appearance, don’t waste time and go to your doctor. A breast self-exam and a clinical test by doctors are the two steps to find breast cancer early. Widen your breast awareness and take care of yourself!
Breast self-exam: Find it early
Boost every woman of all ages to conduct a breast self-exam to know and feel how their normal breast looks like. And if you experience any changes like a painless lump, change in color or shape,and any other symptoms, you can communicate with your doctor.
Although the breast self-exam steps aren’t always an authentic way to find breast cancer early, you are the one who knows your body well. If you find any breast lump or abnormality while breast self-exam, go to your doctor. Here are the few steps you can follow for abreast self-exam. They are as follow:
- In the shower: While you are bathing, examine both your breast and armpits area by pressing down with light firm pressure. Even if you feel any pea size lump or inward nipple, small breast size women should fix an appointment with a breast cancer specialist.
- In front of the mirror: Raise your arms, look at yourself in the mirror and notice if you findany breast changes or not. Any swelling, change of color, dimpling, or pain in chest muscle; if any, these are the warning signs of breast cancer.
- Lying down: When you are on your bed spending me-time, utilize the time by checking your breasts. Place a pillow under your right shoulder, lay down on it, raise your right arm and gently press sideward with light, firm pressure. If you feel any pain, then get up and get an appointment fixed.
Don’t panic;keep yourself and your social health lively and fresh. All lumps, breast pain, and inward nipple are not always the signs of breast cancer. Take your time, examine for a few days and then call your doctor. Because of abnormal hormonal production, hectic life schedules, these symptoms are very common among women.
Clinical test by doctors: Find it early:
Once you have detected abnormalities by yourself and visited the doctor, he will diagnose them thoroughly with scientific tools and machines. Doctors forward early detection steps to detect breast cancer as early as possible.
Screening tests for breast cancer are a way to detect the disease in women who do not have symptoms and indications. Early screening will help a doctor to come up with better medications and treatments to heal their patient. Clinically tested by a doctor is not necessary for women of early age.
What are the ways to find breast cancer early?
Doctors have provided guidelines for women of different ages to find breast cancer early. The women age group of 40-44 should start screening mammograms every year. Women of 45-54 age groups should perform screening mammograms every year. Women between 55 and more should also continue with screening mammograms. Here is the list to find it early:
- Mammograms: It is the first tool to find breast cancer. A small dose of X-rays is performed on the breasts to examine the presence of any lump before you feel it. Diagnostic mammograms target a certain area of the breast where lumps, breast pain, or skin change are felt.
- Breast Ultrasound: If you have a bigger breast, your doctor will suggest an ultrasound. It uses sound waves to get a computerized picture of inside the breast. It gives a vivid picture to the doctors about your breast tissues, cysts, and the presence of any lump. It is also a helpful lead for biopsy.
- Breast MRI: Radio waves are used to get a comprehensive and accurate picture of the inside of the breasts. It calculates the size of the tumor and performed to see if the cancer has spread to the other breast or not. The doctor may suggest a breast MRI if you have the following medical history-
- Ancestry breast cancer history.
- Dense and bigger breasts.
- You own BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.
- You have come across radiation treatments on your chest.
- You especially are at risk of breast cancer.
- New methods: New types and methods of tests are now conducted and developed for breast imaging. These are known as breast tomosynthesis (3D mammography). Here are some techniques to find breast cancer early. They are as follow:
- Molecular breast imaging: Radioactive chemicals are injected, and then, with the help of camera doctors get a clear image of inside the breast.
- Positron emission mammography: It is also a diagnostic test to discover a microscopic cluster of cancer cells within the breast.
- Contrast-enhanced mammography: Iodine is vaccinated into the vein, and then mammography is performed. This test gives a clearer image of mammography.
If you are diagnosed with breast cancer and know what type and stage you are in, it is easy for a doctor to come up with the best treatment. All these above mentioned techniques will help you know about your breast cancer and its spread.
Your doctor will explain all of these tests, and with professional help, you can decide which treatment is best for you. The only waya doctor can confirm that you have breast cancer is by a surgical biopsy. Being forward and proactive with your fitness by communicating with a professionals and breast cancer survivors will help you to leave long. Early detection is the only key to win the fight against cancer.
Author Bio:
Dipali is an enthusiastic health blogger and the founder of lifecares.org. She likes to share her thoughts to make people inspired about their fitness. She is an experienced writer and author on highly authoritative health blogs.
Speak Your Mind