Breast Cancer is rapidly increasing these days, in both men and women. However, the ratio of women is more as compared to that of men. People suffer more due to this condition because they do not understand what the diseases can do to their life and how they can help themselves. Here are few things that you must know about the breast cancer.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer
A new lump in your breast or a painless hard mass can be a common symptom of breast cancer. The cancers can be soft, rounded, or tender. Moreover, they can be painful at times. Therefore, whenever you feel or notice any usual changes you should consult the doctor immediately.
Here is a list of other common signs of breast cancer:
- Swelling of breast even if you cannot find the lump
- Irritation
- Pains in breast or nipples
- Redness or thickness of skin
It does not stop here. Breast cancer lump nodes can spread around, under your arms, or on the collarbone. This could happen before you feel the large tumor breast tissue. It is advisable to keep a close eye on your health. To save yourself from the serious consequences of this medical condition, it is better to have a proper check-up by the reliable health care.
How to Lower the Risk of Breast Cancer
Although you cannot save yourself from this cancer, there are things that you can do to reduce the risk of breasts cancer. The fact that you are women automatically increases the risk of having cancer. However, you can keep yourself safe by following certain things listed below:
· Control Your Weight
The constant increase in your weight due to your diet or your age can increase the risk of breast cancer after menopause. The American Cancer Society recommends that you keep your weight stable by taking a balanced diet. Moreover, you can consult any nutritionist for the balanced diet program.
· Physical Activities
Physical fitness helps you a lot to avoid the risk of breast cancer. The study shows that people who work out daily have fewer chances of having the disease. The American Breast Cancer Society recommends that one must do vigorous activities such as weightlifting, yoga, and running exercises. These increase the body strengths, flexibility, and keep you physically fit.
· Avoid the Intake of Alcohol
Studies show that even the less amount of alcohol can lead to this form of cancer. Therefore, it is better to reduce the intake of alcohol for a longer healthier life.
· Early Pregnancy
Giving birth to the child at an early age can also reduce the risk of having a breast cancer. However, the woman who had not given birth to any child or has their first child at the age of 30 increases the risk. Still, there is good news that pregnancies have different effects on different kinds of cancers.
· Breast Feeding
Some studies suggest that breastfeeding for 1.5 or 2 years can reduce the risk of breast cancers in women. A medical assumption suggests that the breastfeeding reduces the total number of menstrual cycles in a lifetime and hence reduces the risk of breast cancer. However, this trend is not common in Americans.
Breast Cancer Statistics in U.S.A
- Breast cancer diagnosis is in approximately 12% of women in the USA during their lifetime.
- According to the latest survey of 2017, approximately 252,710 new cases appeared in the women and 2,470 new cases appeared in the men.
- The cause of death due to breast cancer is higher than any other cancer (except lung cancer) in the U.S.A.
- In 2017, about 40,610 people died from breast cancer. Most of them are women under the age of 50.
- The breast cancer death rate has decreased since 1989 because of the advanced technology and treatments, detection at early stages and due to awareness.
- The ratio of cancer is more in African- American women as compared to the White Americans.
- The disease is not genetic. Only 5-10% of this cancer can be due to a gene
- The most significant risk factors for having this cancer are being a women and age.
Myths about Radiation Therapy
Radiotherapy for breast cancer is one of the treatments that scare people. However, it is not as difficult as it looks like. Obviously, when you start any medical treatment, it gives pain in the beginning. There are some myths about radiation therapy such as:
· It is a painful treatment.
The treatment is not as painful as one can assume. However, with constant radiation treatment, the skin of that particular area might get dry and itchy. These feelings can be uncomfortable but one cannot stop the treatment.
· It will cause you to be radioactive.
This could be possible in certain cases. The radiation is going to the affected tissue but there is no chance to be radioactive when the machine is off. Yes! If you receive radiation therapy for internal therapy, there might be chances that you get radioactive, which may last for some hour. In that case, the hospital staff will move you to a private room in a hospital for isolation until the radioactive waves subside. It is important to stay away from loved ones during this time, to avoid affecting them.
· You might lose your hair.
This does not happen all the time. Radiation treatment might affect your hair, especially hair on your head. People often confuse the process of radiation with chemotherapy, which affects the whole body. Radiation is a local treatment, which directly affects the tissue of your breast area and nearby lump nodes. It will only affect your hair when directly applied to your head.
· Feeling of nausea and vomiting.
During early radiation treatment, people do not feel any nausea or vomiting. However, if radiation and chemotherapy are going on together, they can upset you and cause nausea and vomiting.
· Radiation increases the chance of breast cancer.
The purpose of radioactive treatment is to lower the risk of breast cancer instead of increasing it.
To sum it up, breast cancer is curable if you begin the treatment at the right time. To know more about the disease, you can follow a breast cancer blog. With a little awareness, you can save your life as well as others.
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