Everything You Need to Know about Breast Cancer and Mammograms.
Wondering about breast cancer? Need to know what to expect from a mammogram? Want to know how a mammogram is used to help save your life? Read on to find out more. Hopefully this helps you know what to expect.
What Is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer affects the tissues of the breast. There are two main types of breast cancer. The more common form of breast cancer is one which develops in the lobules where the milk ducts are and are the glands that produce the milk. The less common form develops in the stromal tissue which makes up the more fatty fibrous tissue of the breast.
Breast cancer is caused by a genetic abnormality. However, only about 5-10% of breast cancer is actually hereditary. The majority of the time the genetic abnormality is due to the aging process. Just general wear and tear of life causes the cells to mutate.
You can actually limit your risk of getting breast cancer just by doing a few things to keep yourself healthy. Things like eating right, not smoking, exercising regularly, and limiting alcohol consumption. This is not to say you definitely will not get breast cancer if you do these things, though - it just helps limit your risk.
Part of the way you can help in the fight against breast cancer is early detection. Doing monthly self-breast exams is key, but you also want to make sure that you get a mammogram as often as your doctor recommends one. This is usually starting by the age of 40 and going once a year thereafter.
Mammograms are nothing to be afraid of. It's no worse than any other procedure you have to have done to ensure you're healthy.
What to Expect out of a Mammogram?
To help ease your fears about mammograms, here's what you can expect when you go for one. This is one of the most important tools doctors have for screening people for breast cancer and helping in determine a diagnosis and treatment plan. So once you're of age you don't want to skip this, especially if you're simply missing it because you're nervous about the unknown. Here's what they do:
* You will receive a gown and be asked to remove all jewelry from the waist up as well as clothing from the waist up.
* You will stand in front of a special x-ray machine that has a plate on it.
* The technician will place one of your breasts on the plate and raise or lower the platform to match your height.
* The technician will then have you position your arms, head, and torso in such a way that it will not interfere with the test itself.
* Your breast is then gently pressed down by a large plastic plate.
* You will feel pressure for a few seconds as the breast tissue is spread out to take an image of the breast. This might cause some discomfort, but it's not harming you. If it becomes too unbearable, tell the technician. However, this is needed in order to flatten out and even the thickness of the breast tissue to get a better image of the breast.
* You'll need to hold still and hold your breath for a second.
* Then the technician will do the same thing with the second breast.
* You might be asked to wait after it's all done for the technician to review the images to make sure they are clear. If they are not they might have to repeat the process.
* It usually takes less than 30 minutes to complete the whole process and you are free to resume normal activity once it is complete.
So that doesn't sound too terrible, does it? It's only once a year and if it will detect breast cancer early, then it could really be a life saver.
How a Mammogram Is Used to Help Save Your Life?
Mammograms have the ability to check the breast for any sign of disease. A lump can be seen on a mammogram before it can even be felt during a self-exam. And since we know early detection saves lives when it comes to cancer, this is a great early detector that saves lives.
While mammograms can't actually diagnose cancer, they can alert us to problems with the breast which lead to further testing. That might be simply monitoring more closely to see if the calcifications multiply over time. Or it could tell doctors that a biopsy needs to be done. It will show doctors exactly where they need to do the biopsy as well.
So mammograms are very important tools in saving the lives of women (and men) when it comes to breast cancer. Even though a mammogram can't say for sure whether you have breast cancer, it does alert the doctors to a possible problem which might require more testing or closer monitoring.
What You Need to Know about Home Breast Exams
Early detection of cancer leads to the best outcomes - especially in breast cancer. You can check your own breasts at home for lumps or abnormalities and call to your doctor's attention concerns you may have so he or she can test further if need be. But do you know how to perform a home breast exam or how often to do it? Do you know what you're looking for? Here's what you need to know about home breast exams.
How to Perform a Home Breast Exam?
There are five steps which you should take to do your monthly self-breast exams at home.
1. Look at yourself in the mirror. Keep your shoulders straight and arms at your hips. You want to check to make sure your breasts are the normal size and shape as usual with no visible deformities or swelling. If you see dimpling or puckering of the skin, a nipple which has changed position or is inverted, or a rash on the skin of your breasts, you want to make your doctor aware of these changes.
2. Now lift your arms over your head and look at your breasts in the mirror. Look for the same things as in #1.
3. Check to make sure there is no liquid coming out of your nipples (unless you're nursing, of course). Otherwise any liquid - whether it be milky, clear, yellow, bloody, or watery - should be what you're taking note of.
4. Now lay down and begin feeling your breasts. Use your right hand to feel your left breast and your left hand to feel your right breast. Keeping the fingers flat and together, move the first few pads of your fingers over your breast in a smooth firm fashion. Go in a circular motion around about the size of a quarter. Get the entire breast from top to bottom and side to side. Move from your collar bone to your belly and your arm pit to your cleavage.
Go in a pattern starting at your nipple and work your way out, making larger and larger circles. You could use a vertical method in rows like mowing the lawn, applying different amounts of pressure. Light pressure at the skin and tissue just underneath the breast, medium pressure for the tissue in the middle of the breast, and firmer pressure for the deep tissue at the back of the breast.
5. Now stand or sit up and feel your breasts. A good place to do this is in the shower. Use the same technique as in step 4; be sure to cover your entire breast using the same movements. You are feeling for any abnormalities or bumps in the breast tissue which are new.
You should perform these steps once a month, every month. It's best done about a week after you have your menstrual period. This way your breasts are the least tender and swollen.
Your breasts are always changing in small ways, but you want to be alerted to drastic changes that happen suddenly so you can contact your doctor. Don't wait and tell yourself it's nothing. Err on the side of caution and contact your doctor so they can determine what's going on.
Remember, it's your body and you know it best. If you find any new bumps or lumps, make sure your doctor hears about your concerns. Early detection is the best defense against breast cancer. So it's important to know what you're looking for.
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