Breast Cancer
What is breast cancer
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women in Malaysia. Among 19 women in Malaysia, there is 1 woman are at risk, compared to one in eight in Europe and the United States.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
- A lump that is painless and hard in the breast
- A lump at the underarm area
- Swelling and redness of breast
- Nipple pain, tenderness or discharge, including bleeding
- Itchiness, soreness or rashes on nipple
How to lower the chances of breast cancer?
- Limit the consumption of alcohol to one per day for women, two for men.
- Do not smoke.
- Be physically active and exercise 1.5 to 2.5 hours weekly.
- Breastfeed your baby.
- Maintain normal body weight and reduce high-fat diet.
- Avoid staying up late frequently.
- Having clinical breast exam (CBE) starting from 20s.
- Having annual screening mammograms starting from 40 years old.
- Talk with your healthcare providers if you are on hormone replacement therapy.
- Self-examination
What is the diagnosis for breast cancer?
- Mamogram
A mammogram is an X-ray for breast. It is the best way to find out breast cancer at early stage.
- Clinical Breast Exam (CBE)
This is an examination done by a doctor or nurse, who uses his or her hands to feel for lumps or other changes.
- Ultrasound
Ultrasound is done when a suspicious lumps are detected on your breast through breast self examination or mammogram.
- MRI
MRI can help the healthcare providers to differentiate between normal and diseased tissue.
- Biopsy
Biopsy diagnostic procedure that can be determine if the suspicious area is cancerous.
Any treatment can be done for breast cancer?
- Surgery
There are 2 types of surgery: breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy.
Both types of surgery are often followed by radiation therapy or other treatments such as chemotherapyor hormone therapy.
- Radiotherapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells.
Common side effects of radiation therapy are:
- Swelling and heaviness in the breast
- Sunburn sensation at treated area
- Fatigue
- Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy uses drugs that may either block the hormones (estrogen and progesterone) from reaching the cancer or lower the level of hormones in the body.
Tamoxifen is an example of a hormone therapy.
Common side effects of hormone therapy are:
- Fatigue
- Hot flashes
- Vaginal discharge or irritation
- Nausea and diarrhea
- Weight gain
- Changes in menstruation
- Bone and joint pain
- Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to target cancer cells. The drugs will be injected
into the bloodstream through an intravenous (IV) needle that is inserted into a vein or through oral consumption.
Common side effects of chemotherapy are:
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Weight change
- Mouth sores
- Short-term hair loss
- Increase the risk of infections or bleeding
Myths of breast cancer:
- You have breast cancer if you found out there is a lump in your breast.
Actually, only small percentage of lumps will turn out to be cancer cells. However, you can seek for medical advice from doctor if you found any persistent lump in your breast.
- You are most likely to have breast cancer if you have a family history of breast cancer.
The truth is women who have a family history of breast cancer are in a higher risk group, but most women who have breast cancer have no family history. Statistic shows that only about 10% of individuals diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of this disease.
- Mammogram can cause the spreading of breast cancer.
The harmfulness of radiation from mammogram is extremely low, it won’t cause any spreading of cancer cells.
Reference:
- https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/cancer/breast/freq_asked_quest_breast_cancer.htm
- https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-myths/a-mammogram-can-cause-breast-cancer-to-spread/
- https://www.breastcancerfoundation.org.my/about-breast-cancer#how-breast-cancer-spreads
- https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/screening.htm
