Welcome to the
Guide to Better Breast Health
 We hope this resource guide is informative, helpful and something
you can share with those you love. It's important for everyone to
know more about early detection and what to do if you, or someone
you love, is diagnosed with breast cancer. This guide is for men
and women, it can happen to anyone.
- Approximately 203,500 new cases of breast cancer in women will
be diagnosed in the United States this year and 39,600 will die
from the disease
- 1 woman every 3 minutes is diagnosed, and one woman every 14
minutes dies of breast cancer
- Women under the age of 40 account for approximately 5% of breast
cancer cases
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African-American
women, but ranks second to lung cancer in cause of cancer deaths
- Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Hispanic
women and is the leading cause of cancer deaths among this group
- Approximately 1 man will be diagnosed to every 100 women diagnosed
with breast cancer
Your History and Habits
All women are at risk of getting breast cancer. Below are some
factors that increase your risk.
- Personal history of a prior breast cancer
- Aging
- If there is a history of breast cancer on your mother's or father's
side - especially if close relatives are diagnosed at a young
age
- Women who started their period early, went through menopause
at a later stage or had children after 30 or not at all
- Drinking 2 or more alcoholic beverages a day
Exercise, a low-fat diet and weight control can REDUCE your risk
of breast cancer.
The lifetime risk for women to develop
breast cancer is 1 in 8. However, different ages face different
risks.
Early detection saves lives. There is a 97% five-year survival
rate when breast cancer is caught before it spreads to other parts
of the body.
Take time for yourself and follow these guidelines for early detection
of breast cancer. If there is a history of breast cancer in your
family, consult your doctor and start earlier than noted below.
Breast Self-Examination
Starting at age 20, perform a monthly breast self-examination (BSE), at the same time each month, avoiding the days immediately
before, during or after your period. Follow the simple steps below:
- Seated or standing, look carefully for any changes in your breasts,
from the collarbone to the bra line and under each arm. Repeat
with arms over your head, making sure to check under each breast.
- Put hands on hips or behind head and squeeze chest muscles,
looking for changes.
- Lift one hand above your head. With the pads of your fingers,
press firmly across the breast in an up and down line, starting
on one side and moving slowly to the other. Cover the entire breast,
top to bottom.
- Gently squeeze the nipple and look for any discharge.
Clinical Breast Examination
- Beginning at age 30, continue a monthly BSE and have a clinical
breast exam by a health professional at least every 3 years.
- The examiner will first inspect your breasts for changes in
size or shape.
- Using the pads of the fingers, the examiner will check for lumps
in breasts and under arms and will also note texture and shape.
Mammogram
- At age 40, in addition to a monthly BSE and annual clinical
breast exam, begin getting annual mammogram's by a licensed technician.
- A mammogram will take approximately 20 minutes total, but each
compression lasts a few seconds.
- You may feel discomfort, but it should not be painful. To reduce
the amount of discomfort, do not have a mammogram immediately
before or during your period.
- Facilities are required to send results within 30 days. You
should be contacted within 5 business days if there are any concerns
with the mammogram.
Symptoms, Abnormalities and Changes
If you have any concerns or find any change, call your doctor.
Symptoms may not be painful, but should not be ignored. Symptoms
include, but are not limited to:
- Visual change, including:
- Size of the breast, including swelling
- Inverted nipple which looks as though it has caved in
- Pitting or scaling of the breast
- Nipple discharge
- Lumps in breast or underarm area
A Glossary of Terms
- Benign Tumor: Not cancerous;
does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the
body.
- Biopsy: The removal
of cells or tissues with a needle or incision for examination
under a microscope.
- Breast Self-Examination (BSE):
A method of manually checking on's own breasts for lumps.
- Calcification: tiny
calcium deposits within the breast, singly or in clusters, often
found by mammography.
- Carcinoma: Cancer that
begins in the skin or in the tissues that line or cover the
internal organs. Carcinomas are the most common form of cancer,
accounting for about 80% to 90% of all cancers.
- Chemotherapy: Treatment
with drugs to destroy cancer cells. Often used in addition to
surgery or radiation if cancer has spread, has come back (recurred)
or when there is a strong chance that it could recur.
- Clinical Breast Exam:
A manual and visual examination of the breasts done by a health
professional, such as a doctor or nurse.
- Cyst: A sac or capsule
filled with fluid. Because a doctor cannot always tell if a
lump in the breast is a cyst, fluid may be removed through a
procedure called a needle aspiration.
- Fibrosis: Formation
of fibrous (scar-like) tissue. Can occur anywhere in the body.
- Inflammatory Breast Cancer:
The most aggressive type of breast cancer. Occurs in sheets
or nests rather than in a solid, confined tumor. Mammogram's
or ultrasounds cannot detect inflammatory breast cancer.
- Invasive Breast Cancer:
Cancer that has spread beyond the layer of tissues in which
it developed into surrounding, healthy tissues. Also called infiltrating cancer.
- Lumpectomy: Surgery
to remove the breast tumor and a small amount of surrounding
normal tissue. A lumpectomy is almost always followed by radiation
to remove the risk of recurrence.
- Malignant Tumor:
Cancerous; a growth with a tendency to invade and destroy nearby
tissue and spread (metastasize) to other parts
of the body.
- Mammogram (Mammography):
A specialized X-ray of the breast to help detect breast cancers
which cannot be felt by the woman or even a health care professional.
- Mastectomy: Surgery
to remove all or part of the breast and sometimes other tissue.
- Needle Aspiration:
A type of biopsy utilizing removal of fluid from a cyst or cells
from a tumor for examination under a microscope.
- "Negative" Result:
Not cancerous (benign).
- "Positive" Result:
Cancerous (malignant).
- Radiation Therapy:
Treatment with high-energy rays (such as X-rays) to eliminate
or shrink cancer cells before or after surgery, or, in some
cases, as the main treatment.
- Reconstructive Surgery:
Using plastic surgery to create a "new" breast after
the mastectomy (surgical removal of the breast). The reconstruction
of the breast can frequently be done during the same operation
when the breast is removed, using several different procedures.
- Stereotactic Needle Biopsy:
A method of needle biopsy that is useful in cases in which a
mass can be seen on a mammogram, but cannot be found by touch.
A computer maps the location of the mass to guide the placement
of the needle.
- Tumor: An abnormal
lump or mass of tissue. Tumors can be benign (not cancerous)
or malignant (cancerous).
- Ultrasound (Ultrasonography):
A procedure in which sound waves (called ultrasound) are bounced
off tissues and the echoes produce a picture (sonogram). Often
used to evaluate cysts.
Sources: Borrowed from National Cancer Institute
Can also be viewed here:
http://www.metaglossary.com/meanings/500721/ |
