BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

October every year, you would likely see a wealth of information about breast cancer. Awareness surrounding breast cancer is incredibly important as early detection, through screening, you can detect the disease when it is most treatable.

Patients are experiencing better outcomes as a result of early diagnosis, state-of-the-art treatment options, and less extensive surgery.

Every woman should know how her breasts normally look and feel, so she can recognize any changes that may occur. That being said, it’s imperative a woman should still get her regular mammograms and clinical breast examination, as these tests can help detect breast cancer before she even has symptoms.

The main risk factors for breast cancer include being a woman and getting older, most breast cancers are found in women ages 35-55 and older.

Other uncontrollable factors which may increase risk include personal/family history, race, breast density, and menstrual period history.

Certain risk factors are lifestyle-related, including the use of birth control pills, hormone therapy after menopause, drinking alcohol, being overweight or obese, and not being physically active.

Having one or several risk factors does not mean a woman will develop breast cancer. Women need to become familiar and aware of all of the risk factors for those they can control, smart lifestyle decisions that can lower the risk of breast cancer.

Breast Cancer occurs mainly in women, but men can also get it too.

Signs of breast cancer may include:

? Lump in the breast or underarm (armpit)

? Swelling or thickening of all or part of the breast

? Dimpling or skin irritation of breast skin

? Localized, persistent breast pain

? Redness, thickening of the nipple or breast skin

? Nipple discharge (other than breast milk)

? Any change in the size or shape of the breast

Preventive Measures to lower the risk of breast cancer:

? Get to and stay at a healthy weight. Balance your food intake with physical activity to avoid excess weight gain.

? Be physically active. Every week, get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity (or a combination of these).

? Limit or avoid alcohol. The ACS recommends that women have no more than one alcoholic drink per day.

Breast Cancer Screening

Sure Diagnostics follows breast cancer screening guidelines, as such you can get your breast screening test done for as low as N7,000

All women should have a risk assessment at age 30 to see if screening earlier than age 40 is needed. Women at average breast cancer risk should begin screening at age 40.

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