Cancer is immensely curable if detected early

Breast cancer is a malignant tumour that develops in the breast cells. This tumour can multiply very quickly in surrounding tissues, even metastasize to other parts of the body. However, breast cancer is, fortunately, a completely curable disease if detected early compared to other cancers.

 HOW TO DETECT BREAST CANCER EARLY?

1. Breast self-examination at home:

The World Health Organization recommends breast self-examination at home as one of three simple, effective and cost-effective breast cancer screening methods. Women 20 years of age and older should perform breast self-examination every month 7-10 days after menstruation (the menstrual cycle is calculated from the first day of menstruation).

• Step 1 - Look: Take off your shirt, sit with your back straight or stand in front of a mirror with your arms down and observe the breasts on both sides. Look for unusual signs such as changes in size, shape and symmetry of the breasts, sagging breast skin, depression, papules.
• Step 2: Arms outstretched, hands behind head. Look for breast abnormalities as the first step.
• Step 3 - Examination: Lie on your back on the bed, put your left hand behind your neck, use your right hand to examine the left breast. Use 3 fingers to spread straight, gently press on the breast while rotating to find lumps or irregular thick patches. Starting from the inside of the nipple, move in a spiral.
• Step 4 - Axillary examination: Move gradually up the armpit to the armpit to look for abnormal lumps and lymph nodes
• Step 5 - Check the nipple: Use your thumb and index finger to squeeze the nipple to see any abnormal discharge gently. Do the same for the other breast.

👉 Watch the video 'Instructions on breast self-examination' for more specific instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Pv8RwTZD4

2. Periodic breast cancer screening at reliable medical facilities

For Women under 40 years old:

It is advisable to periodically visit a breast examination at a trusted medical facility every 1-3 years. Here, women will be examined by a doctor in combination with an ultrasound of the breast, helping to detect abnormal lesions in the mammary gland even if the tumour is not palpable.

For women aged 40 and over:

It is important to visit the doctor once a year because the older a woman is, the higher her risk of breast cancer increases. When examining, in addition to ultrasound of the breast, women over 40 years old will be recommended by the doctor to have a 'mammogram'. Mammography is the gold standard of breast cancer screening, a specialized imaging method that helps detect breast abnormalities early.

For women at high risks, such as those who have had radiation to the chest area, have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, are carriers of genes, or have certain genetic syndromes (common in breast cancer syndromes) related to uterine, ovarian and colon cancer), or if you have a breast tumour, breast cancer has been treated, you need to see a doctor sooner.

The NCCN and ACS recommend that women with a high risk of breast cancer due to genetic mutations or a family member with breast cancer should be screened for breast cancer beginning at the age of 25-30 years. Every 6-12 months, by mammography combined with breast MRI.

For women with implants, it is still possible to screen for breast cancer with a mammogram, but you need to inform your health care provider about this because it will slightly change the imaging technique.

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