If a patient comes to the doctor with breast pain, the doctor will feel quite relieved because most cancers do not have pain as a warning sign. Women who often experience breast pain usually have it because they carry heavy items or heavy bags, causing muscle inflammation and pain radiating to the breast instead.
If I check my breasts myself, do I no longer need to get checked at the hospital?
By the time we feel a lump, it will usually be larger than 1 centimeter, which is considered a large lump. Regular hospital check-ups are recommended once you reach your thirties or forties. If a direct relative within one generation (counting from mother, aunt, uncle, siblings, and children) has had cancer, it will help detect lumps when they are still small, making treatment easier.
They say blood tests can detect cancer. Is that true?
Blood tests are still uncertain. Doctors do not recommend them because if the cancer marker is high, it causes worry and stress, even though you might not actually have cancer. On the other hand, if no lump is found during the check-up, you might not believe the test results. And even if the cancer marker is low, you still cannot ignore regular check-ups. Therefore, it wastes time, money, and causes unnecessary discomfort.
If I have breast implants, can I still get cancer screening?
If you are worried that silicone implants will have problems after mammograms that require breast compression, there is no need to fear because the compression is not that strong. In fact, these silicones are claimed to be so durable that even a truck running over them won’t break them. Reading the mammogram films is also not problematic. However, ideally, you should get cancer screening before breast augmentation surgery and continue regular annual check-ups after the surgery as usual.
Dr. Komol Preechasananok
Surgeon, Breast Care Center
Breast Care Center, Phyathai 2 Hospital
