Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women living in the industrialized nations. In India the incidence of breast cancer has been rising steadily. Although we are employing chemotherapy to increase the survival rates, we are facing challenges in detecting them earlier. If we can detect the cancer in the early stages, we can prevent it.
Some of the steps that can be followed to stay safe against breast cancer by early detection.
Keep an eye on your lifestyle: The changes in lifestyle can reduce the risk of incidence of breast cancer. Breast-feeding helps in preventing the breast cancer. But breast-feeding alone is not sufficient and you are advised to take a healthy diet.
The diet rich in fat and obesity are the major risk factors for the development of breast cancer. This kind of diet also gives rise to the development of many other cancers like gall bladder, pancreas, uterus and colon cancers, mostly on the post-menopausal women.
So to prevent the attack of breast cancer the diet rich in fibers (whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables) have to be taken along with regular exercise and weight reduction, which are the important steps that have to be followed.
Avoid the consumption of alcohol and don’t take the pills containing estrogen.
Diagnosis and Stages:
The average age at which the breast cancer is diagnosed is 48 years in India where as in other industrialized nations it is 58 years.
In less than 20% of women, the breast cancer manifests in the early stages (stages I & II). The remaining will have a locally advanced disease (advanced and limited to regions of breast and lymph glands in the armpit) It may be around 60% in stage III. The stage IV is characterized by the spreading of the cancer to other regions of the body like bones, other breast, lung, liver etc.
The survival rate is more for the patients of stage I – 90%, stage II – 65 to 80%, stage III – 50% and stage IV – 14%.
It means that early diagnosis is very essential for the survival. Mammography is considered as the gold standard test for the screening of the breast cancer. But the organized screening test has not been performed. This is due to the lack of the infrastructure like trained radiologists and technicians and due to the high cost involved to carry out the procedure for such a large population.
Physical examination of the breast can be carried out for the early detection of the breast cancer. A trained health worker can perform the breast examination to detect the breast cancer at the earliest.
Self-examination by a woman:
A woman need to self examine herself once a month to detect any kind of irregularity in the shape of the nipple, appearance of the breasts and to feel any nodules in the armpits for any glands. A woman has to go for check up once in a year after 45 years of age. If there is any kind of suspicion, the physician may perform mammography for both the breasts and it is essential if any of the family members had that problem.
Treatment:
A number of therapies are available today and it is customized for a woman. The therapies may include surgeries like lumpectomy or mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and hormone therapy.