The second most common form of cancer

Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer among Pakistani women, (lung cancer is the first) affecting one of every nine women in the and accounting for 26% of all cancer in females. One-third of these cancers can be detected before the age of 50. If breast cancer is detected in its earliest stages, survival rate after treatment is nearly 100 percent.

• Age. Your chances of developing breast cancer increase as you grow older. Two-thirds of women who develop breast cancer will be more than 50 years old, but breast cancer does occur in younger women.
   
  
• A prior history of breast cancer, cancer in the opposite breast or other cancer. The risk of developing cancer in the other breast is about three times higher than the average.
   
  
• Mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer. Studies show that women with a family history of breast cancer develop the disease at about twice the average.
   
• Early menstruation or late menopause.
   
• No full-term pregnancies or first birth before age 30.

• Lump: often solitary, firm to the touch and not painful
   
• Inverted nipple: in a previously normal breast
   
  
• Skin thickening: a portion of the skin on the breast may look like an orange peel
   
• Superficial veins: a prominence of surface veins on one breast
   
  
• Skin dimpling: a depression in the skin on your breast
  

If you have any of these symptoms, make an appointment to see your physician immediately and follow his/her recommendations for a mammogram or other


Breast Self Examination Instructions:

1. Stand before a mirror. Inspect both breasts for anything unusual such as any discharge from the nipples or puckering, dimpling or scaling of the skin. The next two steps are designed to emphasize any change in the shape or contour of your breasts. As you do them, you should be able to feel your chest muscles tighten.
    
2. Watching closely in the mirror, clasp your hands behind your head and press your hands forward.
    
3. Next, press your hands firmly on your hips and bow slightly toward your mirror as you pull your shoulders and elbows forward.
   
   Some women do the next part of the exam in the shower because fingers glide over soapy skin, making it easy to concentrate on the texture underneath.
    
4. Raise your left arm. Use three or four fingers of your right hand to explore your left breast firmly, carefully and thoroughly. Beginning at the outer edge, press the flat part of your fingers in small circles, moving the circles slowly around the breast. Gradually work toward the nipple. Be sure to cover the entire breast. Pay special attention to the underarm, including the underarm itself. Feel for any unusual lump or mass under the skin.
    
5. Gently squeeze the nipple and look for a discharge. (If you have any discharge during the month, whether or not it is during BSE, see your doctor.) Repeat steps 4 and 5 on your right breast.
    
6. Steps 4 and 5 should be repeated lying down. Lie flat on or folded towel under your left shoulder. This position flattens the breast and makes it easier to examine. Use the same circular motion described earlier. Repeat the exam on your right breast.
    

FAQs

• Does pain in my breast mean that I have cancer ?
   
  Most women have breast pain at one time or another, often more in one breast than in the other. Since this is such a common complaint, it can’t be used as an indication of whether cancer is present.
   
• Before my period, my breast are extremely lumpy and painful. Should I be concerned about this?
   
  Most women feel some breast discomfort before their period starts. This is because the female hormone estrogen stimulates the glandular tissue in the breast. This causes fluid collections in the breast which makes them larger, more lumpy and uncomfortable or even painful.
  
  When the menstrual period starts, the fluid leaves the breast and the discomfort should decrease. The underarm area drains the fluid from the breast so this area may stay ncomfortable for a few extra days.
   
• I have times when my breasts stay tender for a month or so. Is this common?
   
  This is usually the result of a hormone irregularity.If too much fluid builds up, some may remain after your period ends. When the breast produces fluid in the next month, this fluid combines with the leftover fluid, producing more pressure than usual. This pressure may remain for a month or so. This usually is due to a hormone irregularity. Wait until the discomfort goes away before you examine your breast. Otherwise you are likely to find all sorfts of lumps.
   
• Is it worrisome to have a nipple discharge?
   
  A nipple discharge should be reported to your doctor if it occurs in one breast only and is spontaneous; that is, Comes out without the breast being squeezed. Most nipple discharges, especially clear, are not indications of anything serious but should be investigated. All bloody discharges should be examined by your physician, spontaneous or not.
  

Current Recommendations

The Pakistani Cancer Society recommends for women without breast symptoms:

• A baseline mammogram between age 35 and 40
   
• Repeat mammograms every year after the age of 40 or at your physician’s discretion