What are the symptoms of breast cancer? One of the most common questions that a large group of women search for, especially those who have a genetic predisposition to this, is that breast cancer is a serious disease that, if not detected early, may lead to death. So, in this article, we will learn about its symptoms, causes, and ways to treat it.
What are the symptoms of benign breast cancer?
Awareness of this disease should be in the first place as it is one of the diseases that are less dangerous when awareness is made, early detection and discovery in the beginning, so the Ministry of Health must try to spread awareness, and early detection of it for all women, especially in the age stages that are exposed to this Kind is way fiercer than others.
As most of the cancerous masses that are discovered inside the breast are not malignant, but the first symptom that appears on a breast cancer patient is the appearance of a mass like a tumor, but it is not painful. Speaking of what are the symptoms of breast cancer, the most important symptoms are
- The appearance of a clear, sticky substance, or its color close to the color of blood, i.e. tending to red, and this is with the presence of a lump under the skin.
- The presence of indentations in the nipples, similar to the cracking that is caused by breastfeeding in the first period.
- Significant increase in breast size in a short time, or vice versa, or any other strange change in it.
- The presence of flatness in the skin that covers the breast, or indentation in it.
- The appearance of redness or the appearance of wrinkled skin on the surface of the breast, which is similar to the peel of a mandarin or orange.
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The first signs of breast cancer
If we want to answer the question what are the symptoms of breast cancer? It is necessary to talk in the first place about the first sign that appears, and indicates that the patient has breast cancer, which constitutes the greatest risk, and the most famous of these factors are genetic factors, such as a family member having a history of the disease, smoking, or the appearance of a lump in the breast. Nutrition can be one of the most important factors that pose a risk, as well as the age of the patient makes it more likely to contract the disease.
But the matter is not closely related to this type of factor, but there is a factor that has nothing to do with a woman, which is being a woman. Breast cancer usually comes to most women without there being signs or symptoms dangerous to the patient, and when the first detection is done, the woman discovers that she has breast cancer. Although men can also get breast cancer, women are more likely to be exposed to this type of cancer. There are other factors that can increase the chances of developing breast cancer, including
- Age
- A personal history of breast cancer.
- family history
- genetic tendency.
- exposure to radiation.
- Overweight.
- Menstruation at a relatively young age.
- Reaching menopause (menopause the age of “menopause”) at a relatively late age.
- Hormone therapy.
- Take birth control pills.
- smoking.
- Precancerous changes in breast tissue.
- High density of breast tissue on mammography.
Age and the specific period of menopause are among the most important factors that affect breast density, but it must be noted that breast tissue density is higher in older women than in young girls, and hormones play a very important role in breast tissue density, as research has proven Medical studies show that there is a direct relationship between the high level of hormones, and the increase in breast tissue, and although these factors often cause breast density, breast density does not cause breast cancer in a large proportion.
But it is one of the most important factors, and it is worth noting that women whose breast tissue density is high, it is difficult for them to do mammography analysis, and then the solution to detect breast cancer is other scans, and given what are the symptoms of breast cancer? It should be noted that breast tissue density is one of a group of factors or symptoms.
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Breast cancer causes
Moving from what are the symptoms of breast cancer to the causes of breast cancer, which are no less important than the symptoms, as avoiding the cause leads to avoiding the symptom, but there are reasons that cannot be avoided, unfortunately, and the most important causes that lead to breast cancer are
- Heredity where we find that 5%-10% are due to genetic causes in the first place, as there are some families that have a defect in one or two genes, breast cancer gene No. 1 (BRCA 1) or gene Breast Cancer No. 2 (BRCA 2), and from there the risk of her sons and daughters getting breast cancer or ovarian cancer is very high.
- Other genetic defects such as the ataxia-telangiectasia mutation gene, the cell cycle barrier kinase 2 (CHEK-2) gene and the P53 tumor suppressor gene—all of these genes increase The chances of developing breast cancer, and it should be noted that if a family member has breast cancer as a result of one of these genetic factors, you will most likely have breast cancer for the same reasons by 50%.
It should also be noted that most of the genetic defects that result from breast cancer are not transmitted to children by heredity. These acquired defects can be caused by exposure to radiation, women who have been treated with radiation in the chest area to treat lymphoma in childhood or adolescence.
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Breast cancer detection
If you find any mass or change in the breast, even if this change is the result of a healthy mammography, you should consult a doctor immediately, who is the one who will determine the situation and what you need, if you have not exceeded the age of “menopause” – Menopause It is best to wait for one menstrual cycle before seeing your doctor.
But it should be noted that if these changes have not occurred within a maximum period of a month, the doctor should be consulted. It should be noted that awareness at this defining stage constitutes the turning point, as early detection of breast cancer is a reason for the easier treatment, and the more The disease was discovered quickly, the easier the way to treat and detect it than before. The most important way through which breast cancer can be detected
Breast self examination
Self-examination can be used at the age of twenty and above, and it must be at this age and not before because the girl is aware of the nature of her body, and the changes that occur in it have already taken place, and any change at this stage is considered a sign of breast cancer, until she has a suture Plus of this kind of disease.
And the girl who knows the nature of her body, if she notices any change in the texture, size or density of her breasts, must refer to her treating doctor, and then you can choose how you can examine the breast at the doctor, and the self-examination can be more accurate than you, so it is preferable to go To the clinic so that the doctor sees you himself in the way he explains to you.
Breast examination in clinic
Clinic examination should be in clinics If you have a family member who has had breast cancer (family history), or if you belong to one of the high risk groups for developing breast cancer, doctors are advised to be screened for breast cancer in the clinic once a year if You were under the age of forty, and three times a year if you were over the age of forty.
During this examination, the doctor can know any change in the size of the breast, or the presence of any mass covered by the skin that cannot be separated from the breast itself, and your doctor can know the changes that arise in the breast tissue, and the increase in the size of the lymph nodes that are located in the armpit area.
Mammography
Mammography, in which breast tissue is examined by producing x-ray images (X-rays), and nowadays this type of examination is the most accurate in the early detection of any cancerous masses in the breast, which can not be detected. The doctor feels it through touch. Mostly, this is the ideal examination for women over the age of forty, and there are two types of mammograms
- Scanning mammography
- Diagnostic Mammography
However, radiographic examinations are not accurate, as there is a certain group of cancerous tumors, and perhaps those can be felt by self-examination and do not appear in the X-ray image, and there are other accurate examinations such as
- Computer Aided Detection (CAD)
- Digital mammogram.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Ultrasound scan
This examination is very important as it reveals the firmness of the lumps that were discovered in the breast.
biopsy
Given what are the symptoms of breast cancer, it must be said that not all symptoms can be a cause of breast cancer and the matter remains only possibilities, but the biopsy examination is the most accurate thing by which we can determine the presence of cancerous cells, and the biopsy is a test that can provide us with very effective information about Any abnormal or abnormal changes in the breast tissue, and it also works to determine the need (existence or absence) of surgery or not and what type of surgery.
Types of derivations that exist today
- fine needle aspiration
- Thick-needle biopsy (Coreneedle)
- Stereotactic biopsy
- metal wire position
- surgical biopsy
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breast cancer treatment
We can say that the answer to the question What are the symptoms of breast cancer? It is linked to the answer to what are the treatments for breast cancer, and it should be noted that there are different types of breast cancer treatments that modern medicine has reached today, and all of them have to do with the extent of the spread, or the size of the cancerous mass that is found inside the breast. If the patient discovers that she has symptoms of breast cancer, This was confirmed by the tests that were mentioned, so it is necessary to search for the treatment methods that you must undergo, and the most popular methods of treating breast cancer
surgery
This is the most difficult reading that a woman can resort to, especially if she is not far from forty. Through this procedure, the entire breast is removed, or only the tumor is removed, and this stage is one of the very late stages, and the disease was not discovered until after a long period of time. Surgical operations to remove cancerous tumors in the breast
excision of the cancerous tumor
Surgical operations to remove the cancerous tumor, although it is painful, is not considered the last painful stage in the matter. Rather, the stage of radiation treatments must come, and this procedure is necessary to make sure that all the cancerous cells have been completely destroyed, and although the size of the tumor may be It is very small, but there is a lot of research that has proven that the cancer will return again if radiation therapy is not followed up after the lumpectomy, and the most popular types of mastectomy surgeries are
- Partial or sectional mastectomy
- simple excision
- Total mastectomy.
Excision of the axillary lymph nodes
This procedure is done if there are signs of a cancerous tumor in the sentinel glands, and here the option is to remove all the lymph nodes that are located under the armpit.
Breast reconstruction (reconstructive) surgery
It is the operation that is carried out after the removal of the entire breast through a major surgery, and the matter has reached the extent of the spread of the cancerous mass in all parts of the breast, and there is no solution except to remove the entire breast, and it should be noted that not all women can undergo this type of surgery For many medical reasons, there are different types of breast reconstruction, including
- By implanting an artificial tissue
- By personal tissue fold
- Deep inferior epigastric perforator – DIEP
- Reconstruction of the nipple and areola area.
Radiation therapy
We find that this is the first solution that the doctor resorts to when he learns that there is a cancerous mass in the breast, and the truth is that this radiotherapy can be on its own and is relied upon alone, and it can be accompanied by some chemical sessions to speed up the process of getting rid of the cancerous mass before it increases in size, as The main goal of radiotherapy is to reduce the size of tumors and kill cancer cells, and it must be noted that the rumor works to confront cancerous and non-cancerous cells, but it cannot infect healthy cells with any harm as it protects itself by itself.
Chemotherapy
Many medical theories have proven that chemotherapy, although it is very difficult to treat cancer, has the ability to reduce the size of the tumor with a higher capacity than surgical treatment, and even radiation, and the cancer patient can receive doses of chemotherapy in order to reduce the size of the tumor. The tumor has it before surgery to remove it, or before starting radiotherapy sessions.
Hormone therapy
Cancer can be due to some kind of excess hormones, as we mentioned, and in this case, the best solution is treatment by blocking the hormone through medications, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, as this type of treatment works to stop the secretion of estrogen.
biological therapy
Medicine is in a state of constant progress, so doctors and oncologists have the ability to know the main cause of the disease, and this is the first step in the path of treatment, as biological therapy is the latest methods of treating breast cancer. There are three types of biological treatments available to treat breast cancer, which are
- Trastuzumab (Herceptin)
- Bevacizumab (Avastin)
- Docetaxel
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