So, how many of you women, or men, out there have found a mass or lump in your breast? Did you set up a doctors appointment as soon as you could? Did you blow it off? Have you been diagnosed with breast cancer, or know someone in your immediate family who was diagnosed with it?
Breast cancer can develop suddenly, without warning or reason, but in this article I will update you on some of the more recent breakthroughs in breast cancer research, signs and symptoms, and ways to help prevent it.
As some of you may already know, several months ago I found a small lump in my breast. I waited for a short while to see if maybe it would go away, but it didn't. I proceeded to tell my mother about it and we immediately set up an appointment with the doctor to have it checked out. We were somewhat worried that with my personal history of cancer and then my family's history of breast cancer (among others) that it could be something that we really didn't want. After having it biopsied, the doctor told us that it was just a fibroadenoma, which if you don't know, is a benign tumor that comes from caffine build up in the breast. We were very relieved. The doctor told me some facts about them and that if it started to hurt or itch a lot, then he would do a very minor surgery to take it out. At that point in time it was not giving me any discomfort, so I elected to leave it alone. Later on, in my second semester of college, it started giving me problems. So, we set up another appointment with my doctor to set up a surgery date.
The surgery was short and sweet, with no pain afterwards, seeing as I was completely doped up on pain meds. My family and boyfriend were there, even though it only took thirty minutes for the actual surgery to be completed. The scar healed and I don't have any more problems with it.
The point of me telling you this is that every lump should be checked out. Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing, but it could have easily been something!
Here are some things that I didn't know:
-Though Fibroadenomas (Fibroids for short) can never become cancerous, they do raise your chances of developing breast cancer later in life.
-Fibroids are not cancerous, don't believe everything you read on the internet, much of it isn't true. I did some research on Fibroids and the majority of what I found was quite the opposite of what the doctor told me.
-Where there is one Fibroid now, there will probably be more later. Cutting back on caffine can help with that as caffine is a main contributor to them.
Signs and Symptoms of Fibroids:
-Finding a relatively small to medium sized lump in the breast. Though, some Fibriods can be quite large and take up the entire breast.
-If the lump feels rubbery, round, and smooth, it's probably a Fibroid, but still needs to be checked out, as actual breast cancer can take on many forms
-If the lump moves, as Fibroids often do, it could be one. Fibroids are often called "tit mice," because they move around quite a bit and hide from fingers when they are trying to be found.
-Fibroids can hurt and itch, but this pain and irritation should definitely be checked out if it is more than just once in a while or is of a severe amount
Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer:
-Lumps of any kind, shape, or size should be checked out...period.
-The lump is abnormally shaped, very hard, itches a lot.
-The lump does not move. Cancer lumps typically don't move.
-The affected area on the breast starts to take on an abnormal shape or swells
-There is swelling of the lymphnodes in the armpit
-Pain and/or discharge of the nipple. This discharge should definitely be taken seriously, especially if you are not pregnant or breast feeding. The discharge can be cleary to bloody.
-An inverted nipple is often a clear sign of cancer
-Pain anywhere in the breast
-Scaly or pitted spots of skin on the breast
-Breast tenderness
Women should at least have one yearly mammogram and conduct self-exams!
Researchers are finding more and more that genes have everything to do with diseases and their inheritance. Also, smoking has recently been heavily linked with Breast Cancer.
At my latest doctors appointment, the nurses who take my vital signs have recently been told to start asking questions about the patients family medical history. I think this is a good thing, especially because so many different things run in my family and the doctor won't know about them unless I tell him. Like I said, so many diseases and illnesses are being linked to genetics, that people are finding it more important to ask these questions. Any couples that are looking to start a family should consult the elders in their families about any illnesses that their children could inherit, especially if it could be something serious enough that the childs life depends on it. Consulting a family pedigree is a big help with looking at the probability of your child inheriting any diseases.
If you need more information, or would like to donate to finding a cure for breast cancer, please visit the Susan G. Komen website, the link is below:
http://ww5.komen.org/
If you have any question, comments, or concerns, please voice them! I'd love to hear from you! =D
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