Angelina Jolie announced to the world about her operation - a double mastectomy. This information once again drew the attention of women to the problem of breast cancer. The disease does not select a victim based on status. With the same success, both Hollywood «star», " and the supermarket cashier can get breast cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute, the most common disease among women aged 30–75 years is breast cancer. It is the main cause of female mortality (57.6%). Sometimes this disease occurs in men. Representatives of the stronger sex sometimes do not even suggest that they may encounter breast cancer. Therefore, men often go to the doctor too late. And late diagnosis, as you know, is fraught with an untimely start of treatment and unsatisfactory results. This should be remembered by women. In government clinics, mammographyis most often used to detect breast neoplasms . In 12 - 20% of cases, the X-ray examination does not detect a tumor. Then an ultrasound is applied.
Women under the age of 40 are advised to undergo an annual ultrasound scan, as their glandular tissue is denser than fat. And this somewhat complicates the tasks of mammography. In women over 45, breast tissue is replaced with fat over time and does not delay x-rays. Therefore, after 45 years, all women need mammography at least once every 1-2 years.
Risk factors in the development of the disease are:
- burdened family history;
- elevated estrogen levels;
- late first pregnancy (after 30 years);
- short-term breastfeeding;
- abortions;
- late and irregular sex life;
- thyroid disease;
- early menstruation (12 years) and late (after 55 years) menopause;
- obesity;
- stress and mental trauma.
. Causes of breast cancer
The cause of the disease is the uncontrolled division of atypical cells. And if you do not seek help in a timely manner, then the tumor grows rapidly and metastasizes to neighboring organs and tissues. With the flow of lymph, cancer cells spread to the lymph nodes.
Symptoms of breast cancer
We can talk about presence of the disease if:
- painless hilly seal in the gland;
- enlarged lymph nodes (supraclavicular, axillary);
- redness of the skin;
- swelling of the chest;
- increase in size;
- temperature increase is possible.
Often a woman, having discovered the above symptoms in herself, is afraid to find out the truth and does not go to the doctor, but treats herself with some kind of homemade medicine. This leads to the fact that half of the patients get on the table to the surgeon at stage III or IV of the disease.
Dear women, in order not to put your life at unreasonable risk, you can get a timely ultrasound scan and get a blood test for a breast tumor marker (ovarian cancer marker and cancer-embryonic antigen), as well as get a highly qualified consultation of a mammologist based on our subsidiary diagnostic center called. «Your doctor».
