Breast Cancer Symptoms, Treatment, and Correct Ways to Prevent. Women and Men Must Be Alert! –
Symptoms of breast cancer are different for each person. In fact, most people experience no symptoms at all.
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that grows in breast tissue. Cancer can start to grow in the mammary glands, milk ducts, fat tissue and connective tissue in the breast.
In Indonesia, breast cancer is one of the first causes of death caused by cancer and the number of patients is in first place.
In 2020, data from Globocan, quoted from the Ministry of Health, recorded that the number of new cases of breast cancer reached 68,858 cases, or around 16.6% of the total 396,914 new cases of cancer in Indonesia. The number of deaths reached more than 22 thousand cases.
It is known that around 70% of patients are detected at an advanced stage. For this reason, before it’s too late, let’s find out what the following symptoms of breast cancer are like, MIKA Friends!
Breast Cancer Symptoms
Symptoms of breast cancer can be different for each person. But the most common symptom of breast cancer is a lump in the breast or armpit. Then, cancer patients also experience skin changes, pain, nipple pulling in, and unusual discharge from the nipple.
In addition, there is a difference between early symptoms and advanced symptoms of breast cancer. Here are a number of symptoms to watch out for.
Early Symptoms of Breast Cancer
Just like other types of cancer, breast cancer often causes no symptoms. Generally, changes in the breasts will be detected during routine breast examinations, both breast self-examination ( BSE ), and clinical breast examination (SADANIS).
Early symptoms of breast cancer that MIKA Friends should be aware of include:
- A lump appears that feels different from the surrounding breast tissue. Usually, it has irregular edges and does not cause pain.
- If pushed with your fingers, the lump can be moved easily under the skin.
- Lumps or masses can also appear in the armpit, around the collarbone or under the arm.
- Changes in breast size or shape
- Abnormal discharge from the nipple. The fluid can also contain blood, be yellow to green in color, or it can also be purulent)
- The color or texture of the skin on the breasts, nipples and the dark brown area around the nipple (areola) changes.
- Breasts appear reddish
- The skin around the nipple is scaly
- The nipple feels itchy or pulls inward.
- Breast pain or swelling of one breast.
- Having one or more of these symptoms does not always mean that MIKA’s friends have breast cancer.
The reason is, fluid from the nipple can also be triggered by infection. For this reason, seeing a doctor to get the right treatment is the right step.
Advanced Symptoms of Breast Cancer
Usually, in the advanced stages the lump is attached to the chest wall or surrounding skin. In advanced stages of cancer, it can take the form of a swollen lump or ulcer on the skin of the breast.
Sometimes, the skin over the lump also wrinkles and looks like orange peel. In advanced stages, bone pain, unexplained weight loss, swelling of the arms or ulceration (crater-shaped lesions) on the skin can occur.
Then, if the signs of breast cancer have spread to the organs, it will cause additional symptoms, including:
- If it has spread to the lungs, symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, discomfort and pain in the lungs, as well as persistent coughing, bleeding and mucus.
- If it has spread to the bones, it causes persistent bone pain.
- If it spreads to the liver, it causes yellowing of the skin, itching and swelling of the stomach.
In men, breast cancer can occur at any age, although it is more common in older men. This is because male breast cells are much more developed than female breast cells, breast cancer is not common in this part of the population.
Apart from lumps, symptoms of male breast cancer include:
- Thickening of breast tissue
- Nipple discharge
- Redness or scaling of the nipple
- Nipples that are pulled or turned inward
- Unexplained redness, swelling, skin irritation, itching, or rash on the breasts
- Swollen lymph nodes under the arms
- Because men may not regularly check their breast tissue for signs of lumps, male breast cancer is often diagnosed at a later stage.
Causes of Breast Cancer
The cause of breast cancer is actually unknown. However, a number of factors can increase the risk of this disease.
Some influential risk factors are as follows:
- Age factor. Around 60% of breast cancer occurs over the age of 60 years, the greatest risk is found in women aged over 75 years.
- Have ever suffered from breast cancer because the risk of cancer in healthy breasts increases by 0.5-1%
- Family History. The reason is, women whose mothers, sisters or children have been cancer patients have a 3 times greater risk of suffering from breast cancer.
- Genetic and hormonal factors.
- Have ever suffered from non-cancerous breast disease.
- Menorrhea (first menstruation) before the age of 12 years, menopause after the age of 55 years, first pregnancy after the age of 30 years or never been pregnant.
- Use of birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy.
- Postmenopausal obesity.
- Alcohol consumption of more than 1-2 glasses/day.
- Exposure to chemicals that resemble estrogen, usually found in pesticides and other industrial products.
- Diethylstilbestrol (DES): women who take DES to prevent miscarriage have a high risk of breast cancer.
- Radiation therapy.
- How to Treat Breast Cancer
- Treatment will begin after a thorough evaluation and assessment carried out by a doctor. Usually it will be done about 1 week or more after the biopsy.
Here are some ways to treat breast cancer:
Breast removal surgery or mastectomy
. This action is performed to control cancer growth and relieve cancer symptoms
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is used to kill cancer cells at the site of tumor removal and the surrounding area, including lymph nodes
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a combination of drugs to kill cells that multiply rapidly or suppress their proliferation.
Hormone blocking drugs
Hormone blocking drugs that affect the action of hormones that support the growth of cancer cells, these are used to suppress the growth of cancer cells throughout the body
Even though the cancer has spread and affected the function of other organs ( distant recurrent ), appropriate treatment can help shrink and inhibit the growth of the cancer.
Cancer that is in the final stages tends to be more difficult to cure, but at least it can relieve the pain so that the patient’s quality of life can improve.
Treatment for cancer recurrence varies, depending on the type and severity.
Breast Cancer Complications
Without proper treatment, breast cancer can develop into dangerous complications.
Here are some complications of breast cancer to watch out for:
- Blood clotting
- Pain in muscles and joints
- Cachexia or drastic weight loss accompanied by muscle and fat loss
- Pain in bones
- Porous cartilage
- Hypercalcemia
- Bleeding cough
- Liver disorders
- JaundiceSeizures
- Strokes
How to Prevent Breast Cancer
- Breast cancer is indeed a dangerous disease. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t prevent it.
- Here are several ways to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer:
- Make sure your body weight is at the ideal number
- Exercise regularly
- Adopt a healthy eating pattern
- Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages
- If you have to take medication for hormone therapy or oral contraception, consult your doctor first to see whether the medication is safe or not Breastfeed the child if possible
- Consult a doctor immediately if you have a family member with a history of breast cancer
Do a Breast Screening at Mitra Keluarga
Breast cancer is often difficult to detect in its early stages because of its small size. Patients only feel symptoms when the lump is palpable because its size is already quite large.
However, keep in mind that not all lumps in the breast indicate cancer.
Therefore, it is important to carry out an examination to determine whether the lump is cancerous or not.
Many risk factors cannot be controlled. MIKA friends are advised to make changes to diet and lifestyle in general to reduce the incidence of cancer.
Efforts are made to carry out early diagnosis because breast cancer is easier to treat and can be cured if it is still at an early stage.
Some people see no signs of breast cancer at all. That is why SADANIS, breast ultrasound and routine mammograms are also important to do.
No need to worry, MIKA Friends can do breast screening at Mitra Keluarga.
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