Doctors recommend "breast cancer" can be completely cured... if detected early

The term “breast cancer” is no longer a serious matter if you take care to regularly check your breasts. Because if it can be detected at an early stage, the chance of complete cure will be much higher.

Risk factors for breast cancer

Because “the exact cause of breast cancer is still unknown”, there is no vaccine to prevent it. But the important thing about breast cancer is the risk factors that cause this disease..

• Age As age increases, the cells of the milk ducts in the elderly are more likely to divide abnormally than in younger people. Therefore, as age increases… the chance of getting breast cancer also increases.
• Pregnancy, breastfeeding People who have never been pregnant and breastfed have a higher risk of breast cancer than those who have been pregnant and breastfed because breast cells grow maximally when milk is produced. If milk has never been produced, abnormal cell division can easily occur. Women who have children and breastfeed therefore have a lower chance of getting cancer.
• Contraceptive pills, female hormone estrogen If taken continuously for more than 5 years, the risk increases! Because oral contraceptives are suitable for short-term contraception but not for long-term use.
• Genetics Individuals with a direct family history of breast cancer have about a 10% risk.

Symptoms of breast cancer

The most common symptom is a lump in the breast. Other symptoms, such as nipple bleeding, 90% are not cancer but tumors in the milk ducts. Only 10 percent are cancer. Normally… breast cancer has no warning signs. If symptoms appear, it means the disease is already advanced. What should be noted about symptoms is “If there is pain, it is usually not cancer, but if there is no pain, it is usually cancer.” These are important points that lead to self-care for early detection.

Breast cancer screening… a way to increase the chance of cure

• Those over 20 years old should perform breast self-examination once a month… 7 days after the end of menstruation! Without worrying about the method of examination, just focus on feeling for lumps or not? Because self-examination can easily detect abnormalities and should be examined by a doctor every 3 years.
• Those under 35 years old can have only an ultrasound examination at least once.
• Those 35 years old and above should have a digital mammogram and ultrasound at least once.
• Those over 40 years old should have a digital mammogram and ultrasound once a year.

Diagnosis and treatment

Doctors will not conclude the diagnosis based only on the doctor’s examination or mammogram and ultrasound, but must also take a history to find risk factors! Along with taking a tissue sample for biopsy to confirm the diagnosis before making a conclusion.

If cancer is found, there are 5 treatment methods: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. The stage of the disease can be determined after surgery, which allows for planning further treatment.

Breast cancer cannot be prevented… but the risk can be reduced!!

Since the cause is still unknown, prevention methods are not yet available. The best thing… is to perform breast self-examination and avoid risk factors!! Such as reduced breastfeeding or having children at an older age. Actually, women should have their first child no later than 30 years old.

In addition… there are uncontrollable risk factors, such as early menstruation or late menopause, and having a family history of breast or ovarian cancer.

After managing risk factors… another thing that can be done is self-care by eating nutritious food, exercising, controlling fat intake, consulting a gynecologist about contraception, and emphasizing screening… because breast cancer is treatable if detected early!!!