Your ultimate guide to breast cancer

DISCLAIMER: THE POST MAY CONTAIN SOME SENSITIVE PHOTOS TO SOME PEOPLE

Checking yourself for breast cancer is one of the most important things any female should be aware of. Such disease if discovered early, it can be easily treatable. If ,unfortunately, discovered late, it can be deadly. That's why you should have enough knowledge about this area in your body. 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Additionally, breast cancer is the most deadly after lung cancer. So, how can you do this at home? I will spend more time in breast cancer as it is more common and more dangerous.

First of all, if you should know what is your breast composed of. Simply, it is composed of some lobes, in each of these lobes there are lobules, within each lobule, there are some glands that produce milk. Also, these lobes are surrounded by fat and connective tissue to support the breast and giving it contour. The mass of the lobes increases during pregnancy and reproductive age, and regress after menopause.

Who is at risk?

Women older than 40 with a history of breast cancer are at the highest risk. The risk increases if you had your periods started early in your life or ended late. In other words, you were exposed to more estrogen, because estrogen is what gives a signal to the glands to grow. That’s why in pregnancy, the breast grows a lot.

Is any mass considered to be cancer?

Nope. Masses can be due to some inflammatory processes. It can be benign masses or unfortunately malignant.

What is the most common benign mass and how it looks like?

There are numerous benign masses. The most common one is called a fibroadenoma. It usually arises as a mass in the 20s-30s females. The mass usually hurts during periods due to excess and estrogen and during pregnancy for the same reason. What does it feel like? It is a small, palpable, well-circumscribed, mobile mass. It can be differentiated from the rest of your breast tissue. Usually, there is no skin changes. If that describes you, then don’t worry, it is mostly benign mass and has NO RISK OF CONVERTING TO MALIGNANT MASS.

What do malignant masses feel like?

Malignant mass are common in postmenopausal females. They tend to look like a mass usually in the upper outer quadrant of your breast.

There are 2 types of breast cancer. The first one is called Ductal carcinoma (arises from the ducts that drain milk) and the second one is called Lobular carcinoma (arise from the lobules that synthesize milk)

These masses have different characteristics from the benign masses like fibroadenoma and phyllodes tumor. They tend to be painless, non-mobile, irregular masses that are deep within the breast tissue and hardly distinguished. They simply can hold the mass and distinguish it from the rest of the tissue.

They are associated with skin changes like dimpling, and nipple changes as well. These changes are because the tumor is invading the tissue that holds the breast in its place. Here are some of the changes that you can see:

If you feel like you have any of these changes, please visit your doctor as soon as you can. Still, it doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing. But it is better to do a check-up.

Is breast cancer common in men?

No, it is one of the rarest cancers in men as men don’t have enough breast tissue. It is only 1% of all cancers in men. Men are only at high risk of developing breast cancer if they have Klinefelter syndrome, which is simply a feminized male. It is also very rare.