What are the symptoms and signs of breast cancer besides a lump?

The most commonly occurring cancer in women is breast cancer. It is the second most common cancer overall, impacting 2.1 million women each year. Males are also diagnosed with breast cancer, but is a rare form which commonly occur in older men. According to Continuous Update Project, 2018, Belgium had the highest rate of breast cancer in women, followed by Luxembourg. The situation is kind of same in India too. Breast cancer is the second most common in rural India. And, one woman is diagnosed of breast cancer every 4 minutes and on woman dies of the same in every 13 minutes. So, what are the warning signs of breast cancer, how to prevent it?

Signs and symptoms of breast cancer

A lump in the breast is typically associated to breast cancer, most of the time such lumps are not cancer. Some of the early signs of breast cancer include changes in the shape of the nipple; breast pain that doesn’t fade away even after next period; clear red, brown or yellow discharge from nipples of one breast; unexplained redness swelling; skin irritation, itchiness or rash on the breast and swelling around collarbone or under the arm.

Few of later signs of breast cancer in women are inward turning of the nipple or retraction; enlargement of one breast; dimpling of the breast surface; an existing lump that gets bigger; an ‘orange peel’ texture to the skin; vaginal pain; unexplained weight loss; visible veins on the breast and enlarged lymph nodes in the armpit.

Males also have similar signs and symptoms of breast cancer as like females. These include a painless lump; changes in breast skin covering like dumpling, puckering, redness or scaling; changes in nipple such as redness or scaling and discharge from nipple.  

Defining the risk factor

There are multiple factors responsible for the cause of breast cancer in both male and female. One of the prime reason is the age. People aged above 50 years are at higher risk of being affected by cancer. Some get it through genetic mutations like changes in BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Female specific risk factors: When women are exposed to hormones for longer i.e., when early menstrual periods before 12 years and start of menopause after 55 years. Women with dense breast are likely to have breast cancer as the breast will have many connective tissues than fatty tissue, which make it hard to observe tumors or mammogram. There is a chance of getting breast cancer second time gain. Even some non- cancerous breast disease like atypical hyperplasia or lobular carcinoma in situ may lead to breast cancer. To avoid further complications, consult a doctor and take medications through best medicine app in India. If any woman who had undergone radiation therapy to chest or breast like, for treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma are at higher risk. Having a bad reproductive history like first pregnancy after the age of 30, not breastfeeding and never had full- term pregnancy can lead to breast cancer.

To bring the change

Get yourself to be physically active. Avoid being obese or overweight after menopause and don’t take any forms of hormone replacement therapy. If both estrogen and progesterone hormones are taken for more than five years can pose risk of breast cancer. Even oral contraceptives or birth control pills are found to raise the cancer risk. Don’t consume high alcohol or limit alcoholic drinks.

Know more

Spread the awareness about breast cancer, its diagnosis, symptoms, recurrence and treatment. Regularly examine the breasts on your own. Provide people with the right facts about the cancer but, don’t scare them. Avoid the fear by accessing right information at right time. Early detection of breast cancer can increase the chances of recovery. Avail your medicines through cancer medicines provider in India. There is also scope for personalized treatment based on cancer condition, with planned and systematic therapy.

Ending note

Staying healthy is the remedy to avoid all type of cancer or illness. Follow a good lifestyle and maintain healthy habits. These disciplines will help to prevent sickness and will increase the chances of survival when encountered any cancer too.