Breast Cancer Awareness: The Best Preparation to Combat Breast Cancer
The advantages of breast cancer screening in preventing and treating breast cancer
Isn't it unfortunate that often a serious health crisis is needed to make us aware of the importance of good, healthy living? In this world of stress, anxiety and tension, we often tend to take the benefits of a healthy life for granted. Even though many of us go for regular exercises, partake a nutritionally balanced diet and keep healthy living habits, we often neglect our internal health.
Seldom do most of us go for regular, comprehensive full-body medical check-ups. This is a shocking oversight as we don’t realize that an early detection can save us from something as devastating as breast cancer someday. This is specially important for early detection of breast cancer recurrence.
Importance of breast cancer screening
It has become an integral responsibility for every adult woman to go for regular breast cancer screenings, depending on the age and individual medical history. Considering that breast cancer causes thousands of deaths globally, across a wide cross-section of ages, breast cancer screening should at least once every two years for breast cancer prevention. Previously, every adult woman was advised to go for regular self-examinations for the breast.
Though it is not discouraged, the self-examination is now required to be accompanied by a mandatory medical tests. This screening can accurately locate and identify nascent cancerous lesions even in an apparently healthy individual. The frequency of screenings and their individual types is directly proportional to the patient’s medical history and risk for possible advancement in the disease. Breast cancer diagnosis should be done a searly as possible.
Procedures involved in the breast cancer screening
The regular testing involves a comprehensive breast examination by a physician, using an x-ray mammogram. For individuals at higher possibilities of getting breast cancer (like relapses), ancillary examination techniques like genetic testing or MRI breast cancer screening (magnetic resonance imaging) is done. Generally, these tests prove to be sufficiently conclusive and effective in predicting the possibilities of a cancerous infection. However, their inability to procure a direct diagnosis necessitates further, more conclusive diagnostic tools. These include the mammogram imaging and fine needle aspiration cytology. These precision tools allow physicians to closely analyze the results and possibilities inferred from a complete diagnosis.
For women, it could be very difficult and almost depressing to even consider the option of getting a breast cancer screening. Women need to realize that in cancer treatment, time is of vital essence. An early diagnosis demands immediate treatment, which would prevent the cancer from spreading and advancing into other body parts.
Treatment of breast cancer
Coping with breast cancer can definitely be a challenge, whether you have been diagnosed yourself, or have a loved one who is dealing with the disease. Today, there are several choices than ever before when it comes to treatment options.
The treatment depends upon the growth and the type of cancer. Chemotherapy and cancer removing (mastectomy) might work or may not. Not all the breast cancers are fatal but if they meet certain extreme criteria, they might.
Here is some information on breast cancer awareness
Tests like tissue sampling (biopsy) and mammograms serve to let a woman know if there are cancerous lumps or tumors in the breast, so the more often you have these tests done, the more likely you are to catch the cancer in its early stages. You may simply need to have an operation to remove the lump before it has a chance to split its cells and move to other parts of your body, or if the lump is small enough, you may be able to take certain drugs or medications or have a less invasive procedure done to get rid of the cancer.
If the cancer is in more advanced stage, some breast cancer patients choose to undergo chemotherapy, which kills the cancer cells in the body and reduces the risk of the cancer returning or spreading to other body parts. Chemotherapy is systemic, which means the whole body will be affected-not just the area that has been afflicted with cancer.
Radiation therapy is another procedure that is available to breast cancer patients, and this type of treatment is actually more comfortable for the patient than people may think.Hormone therapy with tamoxifen after surgery may also help prevent cancer from developing in the same or opposite breast.
In addition to the medical treatments that breast cancer patients need, breast and ovarian cancer patients require emotional support. Patient can join a support group that will give you a safe environment to voice all your feelings about living with cancer or being in remission.
Doctors evaluate a woman's breast cancer in part by determining how large the tumor is and how far it's spread. This is called staging. It's just a way of summarizing your current condition. There are five basic stages, 0 through IV, and a number of sub-stages. Vist the link to know more on breast cancer reconstruction surgery.
Breast cancer can cover almost any other parts of the body. Few of the common include the bones, liver, lungs, and brain. The diseases would be then a metastasis breast cancer.
Prognosis and survival rate can depend on several things. Type of cancer, treatments, lifestyle, and genetics all play a very important role in being a cancer survivor. As per American College of Surgeons National Cancer Data Base survival rate for patients with stage 1 is 100% and stage IV 20% ( source : breast cancer survival rate )
Breast Cancer Awareness : 10 things you must know & follow
Know the type and stage of breast cancer you have.
- Know whether the tumor has high or low levels of estrogen receptor.
- Take a second opinion from another specialist or surgeons
- Understand the benefits of each treatment of breast cancer.
- Understand the risks and side effects
- Ask your doctor whether you will be able to work during your treatment.
- Ask your doctor if the treatment side effects will be temporary or permanent.
- Inquire costs of treatment
- Find out what your insurance company will cover.
- Consider joining a breast cancer support group
News
1. As of 2006, eight medical organizations recognize that abortion raises a woman's risk for breast cancer
2. Pink Ribbons (and the color pink) are used to express support for women (and men) who are diagnosed with Breast Cancer. In the fall of 1991, the Susan G. Komen Foundation handed out pink ribbons to participants in its New York City race for breast cancer survivors.
3. Click the link for more information on Pink Ribbon Jewelry & Gifts, Breast Cancer Awareness Merchandise
4. If you want to find out more about the needs of breast cancer patients, as well as how you can donate to further the research of breast cancer, visit www.breastcancer.org.
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