Breast cancer can be a life-threatening situation for women in modern times. Today, there are more women at risk and suffering from breast cancer than there were a couple of years ago. The rate at which the disease is affecting women is increasing every year.
This increase in the number of women falling prey to this disease is mainly attributed to the environmental and genetic factors that help in the spread of cancer.
There are no real ways a patient can protect themselves from breast cancer but being aware of the symptoms and detecting early signs of breast cancer can help women get help at the earliest which improves the chances of fighting cancer and recovering from it significantly.
Today, breast cancer is not as fatal as it once used to be thanks to the Cancer hospitals’ initiative to spread awareness to women and to help them fight this disease more effectively.
Breast Cancer and Its Causes
Breast cancer is the formation of lumps in any part of the breast such as breast tissues, milk ducts, lymph nodes, or the lobules of the breast. Breast cancer may begin from any one of the areas of the breast and spread or it can spread from any other part of the body to the breast.
Most cancers do originally form in the breast. Breast cancer occurs when the DNA of the cells in the breast is mutated and starts proliferating rapidly causing a lump of cells to form. This radical expansion of cells becomes cancerous and cuts down on all circulation in that part of the breast.
If left undetected for long periods, breast cancer can spread to the lungs, stomach, skin, and other parts of the body. In India, breast cancer is the biggest cancer found in women in their mid-life. It is a deadly disease and without treatment, it could be fatal for the patient.
However, there has been a steady decline in breast cancer deaths in women over the last few years thanks to the rise of awareness about the disease amongst women and the access to medical facilities that help in detecting the risk factor which helps women in breast cancer diagnosis early on in their life.
The causes of breast cancer are still unclear as many people who are at high risk of breast cancer do not get this disease and some with no risk factors fall prey to this disease. Some of the most common causes are genetics, increased age, exposure to reproductive hormones for too long, hormone therapy, cancer present or being a cancer patient earlier, gene mutations, etc.
Detecting Breast Cancer
Breast cancer cannot be avoided but early signs can be detected by patients themselves by simply being aware of their breasts and noticing any changes to the breast.
A breast self-exam helps in identifying any lumps, pain, redness, changes in the nipple, changes in the areola, or identification of any discharge from the nipples. At the sight of a sign, a patient must immediately refer to an Oncologist for better chances of beating cancer at the earliest.
Medical technologies such as Mammograms are extremely efficient in identifying the risk of cancer in the breast and are able to prevent or diagnose cancer in women as early as possible. It is recommended to get a breast exam done by a specialist every year post the age of 35 to prevent any risks of cancer.
