Easy Breast Cancer Awareness Handbook
Early breast cancer symptoms usually do not cause pain and may cause no breast cancer symptoms at all. It is normally found when a suspicious lump is detected. It must be about the size of a finger tip before it can be felt.Women are recommended to examine their breasts once in a month to detect any changes or lumps. If breast self -examination detects a lump, the family doctor should be consulted.
Some women may experience very obvious and alarming breast cancer symptoms, such as a bloody or clear leakage from the nipple. Often, this happens when a palpable lump is also present. Other more obvious symptoms could manifest as a change or deforming of the breast or nipple shape. Dimpling or indentations are one indicator of this happening.
Actual breast cancer symptoms are often thought to be nothing more than normal occurrences. For example, often during the menstrual cycle the breasts will swell or be sore. This is something that occurs naturally in connection with the fluctuation in hormones, and isn't necessarily a breast cancer symptom. However, if it is something that you haven't experienced in the past, having it checked by doctor is a safe way to be cautious.
A lump on the breast is the best-known symptom of breast cancer. Many of these lumps really are earily signs of cancer, and need to be checked as quickly as possible. The lump is more likely to be dangerous if it somehwat firm, but not painful. Cysts and other non-cancerous ailments lead to painful lumps. While these lumps may appear anywhere on the breast, they are most frequent beneath the nipple and near the armpit at the breast's outer fringes.
It's important to note that not all lumps are an indication of cancer. Many women have naturally fibrous (or "lumpy") breasts. If this is the case, you should discuss with your doctor the best method of testing for you. Recent scientific studies have shown that women are often not able to detect most lumps by doing a breast self exam, as many hide too far below the surface, or are very small.
Once breast cancer has advanced, the symptoms can include pain in the chest or breast bone, ulcerations (sores) on the skin, swelling and soreness of the arm on the side of the breast cancer, weight loss, and loss of appetite. Once the cancer has progressed to these stages, it becomes harder to treat. The best diagnosis and breast cancer information will come from your doctor, so it's important to discuss any new or unusual symptoms as they're discovered.
Some patients prefer to consider alternative treatments for breast cancer rather than going the normal chemotherapy or radiation. breast cancer symptoms what is breast cancer breast cancer information.One such treatments is hormonal. Hormonal treatment for breast cancer is the use of drugs that either reduce the production or block the effect of natural hormones that can affect cancer cell growth. There are many different types of hormonal breast cancer treatment. Breast cancer tumors that have these receptors are specifically called estrogen receptor positive and/or progesterone receptor positive, or generally called hormone receptor positive. About two-thirds of women with breast cancer have tumors that contain estrogen receptors.
Published November 1st, 2008
Filed in Health