Everything About Breast Cancer

A study of 2400 post-menopausal women who have had breast cancer shows that a low-fat diet may help prevent the cancer from coming back.

The rate of recurrence after five years for the women who was put on a low-fat diet was 9.8%, while the rate for those ate a standard diet was 12.4%.

The most significant risk reduction — 42 percent — was with women on the low-fat diet whose tumors did not respond to the presence of the hormone estrogen (also called estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer). Women whose tumors did respond to estrogen saw a 15 percent reduction.

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Regular breast self-exams (BSEs) have been key to early detection of breast cancers. Breastcancer.org advocates this 5-step BSE:

Step 1: Look at your breasts in the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips. If you see any of the following changes, bring them to your doctor’s attention:

* dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin
* a nipple that has changed position or an inverted nipple (pushed inward instead of sticking out)
* redness, soreness, rash, or swelling

Step 2: Now, raise your arms and look for the same changes. (more…)

A lot of breast cancer patients never had children. Having children at a younger age, having more children and breastfeeding have been associated with lower risk of having breast cancer. “What is not used gets damaged” is a common belief, and that belief has extended to cancer risk.

Other more practical ways to prevent breast cancer (as having children is not always an option) is a healthy lifestyle coupled with regular exercise. Taking plant-based estrogen foods like soy products does not cause or worsen breast cancer. Avoiding second hand smoke will save you from a lot of other cancers as well. The most important is regular physical check up that includes procedures for detecting breast cancer like mammography, for early detection.

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Do not take unusual pain, sensations and other symptoms lightly. You can never be so sure these days. Even if no one in your family has had cancer, do not cross out the possibility that you may have developed it.

Blood in the urine, recurrent abdominal pains, lumps in the breast and other body parts should be checked by doctors – not just once, but ask for second opinions to assure all avenues are pursued. Do not be contented with just one answer – ask for detailed explanations of why you are experiencing pain, or why lumps are present. Initiate and demand for an observation. If the symptoms still persist after a few weeks, seek other tests such as CT scan or MRI(which should be recommended by your doctor/physician of course).

Read this article and learn from the experience of a misdiagnosed patient.

Elastography is an imaging technology that examines the mechanical properties of materials, in this case breast tissue which tends to have an altered state when afflicted by breast cancer. The lumps you feel out of place when you do a home exam may be proof oh having the disease but without a professional to verify it, it’s still a hunch. Ultrasound has been the norm of the screening process for years and it relies on the different ways tissue reacts to ultrasound waves that is interpreted and displayed as images on the screen. The technology uses sound to diagnose and verify the elasticity of tissue, an abnormality would reflect as an area of unusual density. The tests conducted to far by researchers on the said new screening tool has been at an impressive 100% with only less than 90% success rate for ultrasound scans. (more…)

Learning that you have a breast cancer can be very devastating. It is a life-changing moment which affects not only your life, but your loved ones as well.
It is important that cancer patients have people whom they can share their feelings and emotions. Communicate openly with your family and loved ones. Attend a support group where you can identify with what other women are going through.
Educate yourself through searching the internet or reading different materials about breast cancer. Asking your doctor and the medical team and getting a second opinion will help you in understanding your diagnosis.

It also helps to strengthen your faith through praying and spiritual retreat. Talk to a priest or pastor. Faith helps you in dealing with and accepting your condition.
Live a “normal life” as possible.

image source:www.cancerinfo.ws

Here are some crucial information about the disease that usually triggers a woman. A woman’s risk for developing breast cancer increases as she ages but breast cancer rarely strikes a woman in her 20’s. According to studies, less than five percent of all breast cancer cases occur in women under 40. It usually hits after menopause; nearly 80 percent of cases are in woman over 50. Sometimes, gynecologist don’t always take symptoms seriously because breast cancer is so common on younger women, the doctor may blow-off a lamp or other worrisome sign like bloody nipple discharge. Insist that she perform a clinical breast exam and a needle biopsy or ultrasound. It is also important to trace our family history since it puts younger women at risk. When a 20 to 30 something women develop the disease, they may have gene mutation. Ask your gynecologist about your risks of getting breast cancer so that it can help you to prevent it.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer in men?

Symptoms of breast cancer in men are very similar to those in women. One such example is the development of a lump in the chest. However, unlike women, men have a more severe reaction to strange symptoms that make them tend to go to the doctor often partly because it is supposedly unnatural for their sex to be experiencing what they once thought was a disease caught by the opposite sex only. A list of the several effects of the abysmal disease are bleeding from the nipple and/or abnormalities in the skin above the cancer. This is because the cancer has already quickly spread to the lymph nodes in a large number of these men, thus the abnormalities. If not treated early, it could spread to the other parts of the body.

There are several websites that publish first hand experiences of cancer patients – their struggles and learnings. These are some ideas a (suspected) breast cancer patient should consider:

- Is an outright operation to remove the lump / mass necessary?
- Find out whether there are available options where an operation is not necessary to have a biopsy.
- Once the lump is verified as cancerous, find out your treatment options.
- Consider alternative medicine if you are not comfortable with traditional radiation and chemotherapy
- Do your research: talk to breast cancer patients and survivors, ask for referrals
- Assert your right to proper overall treatment – you should not be pushed to go through a procedure you are not comfortable with

Read this story to find out how you, too, can get the treatment you deserve.