Warning Signs of Breast Cancer

 Warning Signs of Breast Cancer

Signs of Breast Cancer

 


Many of the symptoms of breast cancer can also be symptoms of something else. Only your doctor can tell for sure. If you have any of these, make an appointment with your doctor.
  • A lump in the breast or armpit
  • Thickening of breast skin or tissue that lasts through your period
  • A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast
  • Clear or bloody fluid coming from the nipple
  • A change in how the skin on your breast or nipple looks or feels. It may look dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed.
  • Redness of your breast or nipple
  • An area on your breast that clearly looks different from any other
  • A hard, marble-like area under the skin
Your doctor will do tests to find out the cause. He or she can give you the "all clear" or help you start treatment if the tests show you have cancer. Most breast lumps are not cancer. But if your doctor believes it is, it’s best to start treatment right away.

 Symptoms of Breast Cancer


In its early stages, breast cancer usually has no symptoms. As a tumor develops, you may note the following signs:
  • A lump in the breast or underarm that persists after your menstrual cycle. This is often the first apparent symptom of breast cancer. Lumps associated with breast cancer are usually painless, although some may cause a prickly sensation. Lumps are usually visible on a mammogram long before they can be seen or felt.
  • Swelling in the armpit.
  • Pain or tenderness in the breast. Although lumps are usually painless, pain or tenderness can be a sign of breast cancer.
  • A noticeable flattening or indentation on the breast, which may indicate a tumor that cannot be seen or felt.
  • Any change in the size, contour, texture, or temperature of the breast. A reddish, pitted surface like the skin of an orange could be a sign of advanced breast cancer.
  • A change in the nipple, such as a nipple retraction, dimpling, itching, a burning sensation, or ulceration. A scaly rash of the nipple is symptomatic of Paget's disease, which may be associated with an underlying breast cancer.
  • Unusual discharge from the nipple that may be clear, bloody, or another color. It's usually caused by benign conditions but could be due to cancer in some cases.
  • A marble-like area under the skin.
  • An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.

Treatment & Care

 

Breast cancer treatments are getting better all the time, and people have many more options today than ever before. With so many choices, it’s a good idea to learn as much as you can about the ones that can help you the most.
No matter which ones you choose, all breast cancer treatments have two main goals:
  1. To rid the body of as much of the cancer as possible
  2. To prevent the disease from coming back.

How Do I Know Which Breast Cancer Treatment to Choose? 


Your doctor will think about a few things before she recommends a treatment for you:

The type of breast cancer you have The size of your tumor and how far the cancer has spread in your body, called the stage of your disease If your tumor has things called "receptors" for HER2 protein, estrogen, and progesterone, or other specific features. Your age, if you’ve gone through menopause, other health conditions you have, and your personal preferences also play a role in this decision-making process. What Are the Types of Breast Cancer Treatment? Some treatments remove or destroy the disease within the breast and nearby tissues, such as lymph nodes. These include: Surgery to remove the whole breast, called a mastectomy, or to remove just the tumor and tissues around it, called a lumpectomy or breast-conserving surgery. There are different types of mastectomies and lumpectomies. Radiation therapy, which uses high-energy waves to kill cancer cells. Other treatments destroy or control cancer cells all over the body: Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. As these powerful medicines fight the disease, they also can cause side effects, like nausea, hair loss, early menopause, hot flashes, and fatigue. Hormone therapy uses drugs to prevent hormones, especially estrogen, from fueling the growth of breast cancer cells. Medicines include tamoxifen (Nolvadex, Soltamox) for women before and after menopause and anastrozole (Arimidex), exemestane (Aromasin), and letrozole (Femara) for postmenopausal women. Side effects can include hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Some types of this therapy work by stopping the ovaries from making hormones, either through surgery or medication. Targeted therapy such as lapatinib (Tykerb), pertuzumab (Perjeta), and trastuzumab (Herceptin). These medicines prompt the body's immune system to destroy cancer. They target breast cancer cells that have high levels of a protein called HER2. Palbociclib (Ibrance) works by blocking a molecule that promotes cancer growth. Along with letrozole, palbociclib is for postmenopausal women with certain types of advanced cancer. You might get chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or targeted therapy along with surgery or radiation. They can kill any cancer cells that were left behind by other treatments.

source:www.webmd.com
Location: United States

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