The best way to deal with breast cancer, both before being diagnosed and after, is to be completely knowledgeable about it. Educating yourself about its symptoms, signs and causes can help you detect it early and also avoid it. With every one woman in eight being at the risk of getting this cancer, it is the best thing we can do for ourselves.

To understand this type of cancer, it is important that you understand its signs and symptoms so you can detect it at an early stage and prevent any further harm.

Signs & Symptoms

The first subjective sign or first symptom of breast cancer is a lump that feels different from the rest of the breast tissue. As per the Merck Manual, more than almost 80 percent of cancer cases are detected by a women when she feels a lump through a breast self examination. The American Cancer Society states that the first medical sign of breast cancer is detected by the physician when he discovers it through a mammogram. Another indication of this cancer is the detection of lumps in the lymph nodes located in the armpits, as the first area it starts spreading to is the lymph nodes there.

There are other signs or symptoms as well, like:

o Change in the size of the breast,
o Change of the shape,
o The skin of the breast starts dimpling,
o There is nipple inversion,
o Spontaneous single nipple discharge,
o Pain in the breast (mastodynia) is not a reliable symptom, but can also be indicative of other breast problems.

When the cancer cells spread to the dermal lymphatics, that is, the small lymph vessels present in the skin of the breast, it can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC). The symptoms of this kind include pain, warmth, swelling, redness throughout the breast and an orange peel texture to the skin, which is referred to as peau d’orange.

Paget’s disease of the Breast

Another complex symptom of this cancer is the Paget’s disease of the breast. In this syndrome the skin presents changes as eczematoid skin changes. It shows redness and mild flaking of the skin of the nipple. It is said that as Paget’s advances, the symptoms may change to redness, itching, tingling, burning, increased sensitivity and pain. Around half of the women diagnosed with Paget’s syndrome have also had a lump in the breast.

Metastatic Breast Cancer

Sometimes the cancer presents itself as metastatic disease, which means the cancer that has spread from its original organ, the breast. The symptoms of this type depend upon the location of the metastasis. Common sites where metastasis occurs is the bone, lung, liver and the brain. Unexplained weight loss can be a sign of an occurrence of cancer, as can fever and chills. Pain in the joints can be manifestations of this cancer. Jaundice and neurological symptoms, too, could point towards this. These symptoms are non-specific; that means they could be the symptoms of any other illness.

Many times the symptoms of a breast disorder do not turn out to represent breast cancer. There are benign breast diseases, like mastitis and fibrodenoma, which can be the causes of the symptoms, though any symptom should be considered seriously at all times by both patients and doctors.

Being diagnosed with breast cancer can be an unsettling experience. Useful resources to deal with this time are books. You could consider Secrets of Cancer Survivors by Elizabeth Gould. For more information, please click here: http://www.secretsofcancersurvivors.com

By: Danielle Summers

About the Author:

[carpwp:amazon{breast cancer}][/carpwp]

The breast cancer signs and symptoms can be widely different for every woman. Some experience lumps, some experience skin changes that appear quite drastic and other women get no definite signs of breast cancer.

Some women experience similar signs and symptoms of breast cancer when it may just be a simple infection or maybe a cyst. All women of all ages – from teens upwards – should check their breasts for unusual lumps and bumps. If you think you find a lump or your breasts feel and look different, it is best to get an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible.

The prognosis of a diagnosis for breast cancer can sometimes take many weeks and can include many different types of testing to undergo. This can be extremely frustrating and quite an upsetting time in any woman’s life. The up side of it is that once the prognosis has been made, you can start looking at the bigger picture. You can sit down with your doctors and formulate some kind of plan for treatment which will be specifically tailored just for you.

There are a few myths surrounding breast cancer and the breast cancer facts. Let’s look at some of the myths that you may or may not have heard before.

Some people believe that breast cancer only becomes a risk when you are older. This in some ways is true. However, younger women do get breast cancer as well.

Some people also believe that if breast cancer doesn’t run in the family they won’t actually get breast cancer. This isn’t true at all. It is thought that nearly 80 percent of women who have had breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

It was reported years ago that antiperspirants can put women at risk of developing breast cancer. This is unfounded and has never been proved that a link between using antiperspirants and breast cancer even exists. It has also been reported that using birth control pills can contribute to a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. There are many studies done over time that show no founded link between the two. One of the studies combined all the information received from all of the other studies and found a very slight increase. This increase was over time, but was not significant enough actually prove the link.

There has also been a lot of press about the association of high fat foods and the risk of breast cancer. While eating high fat foods isn’t good for health, there is no definitive research that the link between eating fatty foods and breast cancer actually exists. This could be a misinterpretation of the link between obesity and breast cancer which does actually exist and has been proven many times. If you make a lifestyle choice and eat lots of high fat foods, you will eventually become overweight and possibly obese. This will then in turn, increase your risk of developing breast cancer at a later date.



By: Marlon Dirk

About the Author:

The breast cancer signs and symptoms can be widely different for every woman. Some experience lumps, some experience skin changes that appear quite drastic and other women get no definite signs of breast cancer.

Some women experience similar signs and symptoms of breast cancer when it may just be a simple infection or maybe a cyst. All women of all ages – from teens upwards – should check their breasts for unusual lumps and bumps. If you think you find a lump or your breasts feel and look different, it is best to get an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible.

The prognosis of a diagnosis for breast cancer can sometimes take many weeks and can include many different types of testing to undergo. This can be extremely frustrating and quite an upsetting time in any woman’s life. The up side of it is that once the prognosis has been made, you can start looking at the bigger picture. You can sit down with your doctors and formulate some kind of plan for treatment which will be specifically tailored just for you.

There are a few myths surrounding breast cancer and the breast cancer facts. Let’s look at some of the myths that you may or may not have heard before.

Some people believe that breast cancer only becomes a risk when you are older. This in some ways is true. However, younger women do get breast cancer as well.

Some people also believe that if breast cancer doesn’t run in the family they won’t actually get breast cancer. This isn’t true at all. It is thought that nearly 80 percent of women who have had breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

It was reported years ago that antiperspirants can put women at risk of developing breast cancer. This is unfounded and has never been proved that a link between using antiperspirants and breast cancer even exists. It has also been reported that using birth control pills can contribute to a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. There are many studies done over time that show no founded link between the two. One of the studies combined all the information received from all of the other studies and found a very slight increase. This increase was over time, but was not significant enough actually prove the link.

There has also been a lot of press about the association of high fat foods and the risk of breast cancer. While eating high fat foods isn’t good for health, there is no definitive research that the link between eating fatty foods and breast cancer actually exists. This could be a misinterpretation of the link between obesity and breast cancer which does actually exist and has been proven many times. If you make a lifestyle choice and eat lots of high fat foods, you will eventually become overweight and possibly obese. This will then in turn, increase your risk of developing breast cancer at a later date.



By: Marlon Dirk

About the Author:

catlover5234ilovethe80s asked:


can a yound girl around the age of 14-15 get breast cancer? and what are the signs also how do you get it and how do you see if you have it?