Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is cancer that forms in the cells of the breasts.

After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the India. Breast cancer can occur in both men and women, but it's far more common in women.

India will be among the world leaders in new breast cancer cases detected every year. Sedentary lifestyle (lack of exercise), increased consumption of fat products, postmenopausal obesity, late marriages, delayed child bearing and lesser number of children being conceived, reduced duration of breastfeeding (less than one year per child) are all believed to be reasons for increased risk of breast cancer.

Cancers if neglected or left untreated will progress to an advanced stage and threaten the life of the patient in the long run.

Risk factors for breast cancer include:

• Older age
• Personal history of breast cancer
• Family history of breast cancer or having other relatives (in either your maternal or paternal family) with breast cancer or ovarian cancer
• Changes in certain genes, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2
• Early menarche (onset of menses) or menopause (cessation of menses)
• Late childbearing
• Exposure to radiations
• Using Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT) for prolonged periods
• Women whose mammograms show a larger area of dense tissue than the mammograms of women of the same age
• Chance of getting breast cancer after menopause is higher in women who are overweight or obese
• Women who are physically inactive throughout life may have an increased risk of breast cancer

Signs & Symptoms of Breast Cancer

It is painless, especially, during the early stage. Watch out for the following changes in the breast:

• A persistent lump or thickening in the breast or in the axilla.
• A change in the size or shape of the breast
• A change in the colour or appearance of the skin of the breast such as redness, puckering or dimpling.
• Bloody discharge from the nipple.
• A change in the nipple or areola such as scaliness, persistent rash or nipple retraction (nipple pulled into the breast).

Do this self-breast examination once in 3-4 months and do report to your doctor if you feel something unusual - a lump, retraction of nipple, dimpling of skin, any kind of nipple discharge, etc.