The thought of breast cancer or cancer itself may be a source of worries for many women. Fears include worries about treatment costs, anxiety, uncertainty about how it will impact your life or even mortality depression but this may not exactly be the case.
Breast cancer is the cancer that forms in the cells of the breasts. It can affect both men and women but it’s far common in women.
Breast cancer awareness and research finding has helped create advances in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer survival rate have increased and the number of deaths steadily declining.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer
- Breast lump or thickening that feels different from surrounding tissue
- Change in size, shape or appearance of breast.
- Changes to the skin over the breast for example dimpling
- A newly inverted nipple
- Peeling, crusting or flaking of the areola
- Redness or pitting of the skin over the breast
- A blood stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple
Some of the risk factors of breast cancer.
- Female sex
- Increasing age above 50 years
- Family or personal history of breast cancer
- Radiation exposure
- Hormonal replacement therapy
- Alcoholism
- Obesity
- Smoking
Prevention of breast cancer
- Cancer screening
- Routine Breast self-examination
- Limit alcohol and smoking
- Regular exercise
- Limit menopausal hormone therapy
- Maintain healthy weight
- Healthy diet
