Breast cancer is the leading cause of women’s deaths. The best-known ways to fight the disease are regular checkups, screening tests, and a healthy lifestyle.
Read on how to lower your risk of getting cancer, what a mammogram looks like, and how often you should undergo mammography.
Breast cancer – what is it?
Cancer occurs when cells are damaged, divide, and grow uncontrollably. Breast cancer develops from breast cells.
There are different types of breast cancers, depending on a type of breast cell that turn into cancer. However, most cancers originate from tissue associated with milk production – lobules and ducts.
What are breast cancer symptoms and risk factors?
Early symptoms of breast cancer may vary or be silent for a long time. So, you should know your body well, and how it usually looks and feels. The self-exam practice and regular checkups will help you notice any red flags.
Below we present some changes in the breasts that may be signs of breast cancer:
- thickening or swelling,
- new lump in the breast or the armpit,
- breast skin irritation or dimpling,
- redness or flaky skin on the nipple,
- nipple pulling in,
- pain in the nipple or any other part of the breast,
- discharge from the nipple (not milk, but for example, blood),
- a change in the breast size or shape.
Those symptoms may accompany other conditions, but you should contact your doctor if you notice any worrying signs that may imply breast cancer.
The main risk factors for getting breast cancer are gender and age. But remember that having or being exposed to some risk factors does not necessarily mean you will get ill. You can reduce the influence of certain risk factors.
The significant risk factors include:
- Age. Doctors diagnose breast cancer mostly in women over 50.
- Genetics. Women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations are at higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
- Reproductive history. Prolonged exposure to hormones raises the risk of getting cancer. Also, being pregnant for the first time after 30, not breastfeeding, and never having full-term pregnancy may increase your risk of getting breast cancer.
- History of breast-related diseases. Women who have beaten breast cancer once, may get ill again. Furthermore, some non-cancerous breast diseases raise the risk of getting cancer.
- Family member with breast or ovarian cancer. When you have relatives who suffered from breast or ovarian cancer, you may have the mutation responsible for the disease and thus be at a higher risk of getting cancer.
- History of radiotherapy. Women who have underwent radiotherapy are more likely to develop cancer later.
- Lack of physical activity.
- In the case of overweight women after menopause, the risk of getting breast cancer is higher than in their peers with healthy body weight.
- Hormone therapy. Menopause therapies can raise the risk of developing breast cancer, especially when they are taken for more than five years. Also, some birth control pills increase the breast cancer risk.
- Smoking and drinking alcohol.
- Exposure to chemicals.
- Night shifts. Women working on night shifts may have changed hormonal balance and be prone to developing cancer.
Breast cancer prevention
Many factors contribute to your risk of getting ill. Some of them, like genetics or age, are outside your control. But you can still lower your risk of developing breast cancer by making healthy choices.
Below you can find some examples of attitudes that may help prevent breast cancer:
- Follow a healthy diet and maintain a healthy body weight.
- Exercise more. It helps you maintain a healthy weight and boosts your immune system.
- Stop completely or reduce your alcohol consumption and smoking.
- Discontinue the hormone therapy. Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks and decide if it is good for you.
- Breastfeed your children, if possible.
- Do regular checkups, especially when you are a carrier of BRCA mutations.
What is breast cancer screening?
Breast cancer screening is the best way to detect the tumour at the early stage of development and when the chances to treat it successfully are the highest.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that:
- Women 50 to 74 years old, at an average risk for breast cancer, should take a mammogram every two years;
- Women 40 to 49 years old, at higher risk of getting breast cancer, should consider the pros and cons of breast screening before 50 years of age and consult their doctor to decide when they should start having mammograms taken and how often.
What is a mammogram?
A mammogram is an X-ray scan of the breast that is a part of breast cancer screening.
In many women, having mammograms taken on a regular basis is the best method to detect a tumour before it even causes early breast cancer symptoms.
How is a mammogram scan done?
The technician will ask you to stand in front of the X-ray aperture and help you place your breast on the plastic plate.
The plate from above will slightly flatten the breast, to prevent its movement during the scan. The squeezing feeling may be unpleasant, but it does not last long.
The same procedure will be repeated for the side view and for the other breast.
The radiologist will look at your scans and interpret them. After that, you will be informed about the results or called back for more scans.
Less than one out of ten women called back has cancer. Sometimes, changes visible in the mammogram are normal for a given woman, or may be benign. For example, mammograms of dense breasts containing more connective than fatty tissue may be harder to interpret.
How is breast cancer diagnosed and treated?
If the mammogram reveals suspicious lesions, doctors order additional tests to confirm breast cancer. Then, they may refer you to a surgeon or an oncology specialist.
Other types of breast cancer diagnostic tests include:
- Ultrasound examination,
- Diagnostic mammogram – a more detailed breast X-ray,
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
- Biopsy –a sample of tissue is collected from the breast and analysed under a microscope by a pathologist.
An early stage breast cancer prognosis is generally optimistic. Nine out of ten women survive for more than five years from their diagnosis. The worst prognosis concerns stage 4 cancers, which spread to other organs.
Doctors may recommend several types of breast cancer treatments, on a basis of the breast cancer type and stage. Usually, patients with breast cancer get more than one treatment.
Breast cancer treatment options:
- Surgery – the surgeon removes the affected tissue,
- Chemotherapy – in form of pills or intravenous drugs,
- Radiotherapy – a therapy that uses radiation to kill cancer cells,
- Hormonal therapy – blocks hormones needed by cancer cells for their growth,
- Biological therapy – boost immune system forces to beat cancer, is the most targeted.
If your cancer is resistant to those treatments, you can still benefit from new treatments for breast cancer and participate in clinical trials, during which effectiveness and safety of new treatment options are evaluated.
To wrap up
Breast cancer develops in breast tissues and is most prevalent in women over 50 years of age. Besides age and gender, other risk factors for that disease include genetics, overweight, reproductive history, and hormone exposure.
You can lower your risk of developing cancer to some extent, but regular screening is necessary. Many therapies are available that are effective especially for breast cancers at the early stage of development. Consult your doctor, when you should start having mammography and schedule your checkups.