symptoms of breast cancer

Breast cancer is a common cancer in women. you need more understand symptoms of breast cancer, which means that you know how your breasts normally feel. Most breast lumps aren’t due to breast cancer, but do get any new and persistent lump checked by your GP. Remember that you can also get breast cancer if you’re a man. Breast cancer in men is very rare (about 100 times rarer than in women), but if you notice a lump, see your GP. Saying that, breast lumps behind the nipple area are common in teenage boys and are due to hormonal reasons. These settle by themselves and are completely harmless.

Breast cancer – where a cancer is confined to the breast or the surrounding areas such as the lymph nodes under the arms – is the most common cancer affecting women. The problem with breast cancer – as indeed with many other cancers – is that it can spread to other areas of your body (known as invasive breast cancer). Various forms of breast cancer exist – some more serious than others – and it can have many causes, including gene abnormalities and raised hormone levels in the blood. You’re at an increased risk of developing breast cancer the older you get, or if close relatives of yours suffer from breast cancer.

Women over the age of 50 in the US are offered regular X-ray checks (called a mammography) to try and detect cancer early on. Women under 50 aren’t currently offered a mammography – cancer in younger women is rarer and more difficult to detect through mammography because of denser breast tissue before they go through the menopause .

Check your breasts regularly and look out for changes that may possibly signify breast cancer. Understand symptoms of breast cancer :

  • Breast lump: You notice a lump in your breast that persists after your next period, appears after you go through the menopause or gets bigger with time.
  • Breast shape or size: You notice any change in the size or shape of one of your breasts.
  • Nipples: You notice any change in the shape of your nipples, you get any unusual discharge from your nipples (particularly if this contains blood) or you develop any skin changes on or around your nipples (or other breast areas) that don’t disappear by themselves and worry you.
  • A change in the shape or size of your breast.
  • A lump or thickened tissue in one of your breasts (changes that happen at the same time in both breasts are unlikely to be due to cancer), particularly when the lump persists after you have your period.
  • A change in the skin of your breast, such as dimpling.
  • A blood-stained discharge from one of your nipples.
  • A new rash on your nipple or the skin around it.
  • A new swelling or lump in your armpit (particularly if this lump is not tender – benign skin infections can sometimes cause tender lumps).

These symptoms and signs don’t necessarily mean that you have cancer, but do indicate that you need to see your GP straight away.

Many men believe that they can’t develop breast cancer. In fact, they can – although breast cancer in men is about 100 times less common than in women. So if you’re a man and develop a new lump or other change in your breast tissue, go to see your GP to get it checked out.

If you’re a teenage boy and develop a – sometimes tender – swelling behind your nipple area, you most likely have little to worry about. This swelling is usually due to hormonal changes in puberty and goes over time.

Reassuringly, 9 out of 10 breast lumps are benign, which means they aren’t due to cancer. However, any new lump in your breast raises the possibility of breast cancer, and so consulting your GP is always a good idea . Correctly understand symptoms of breast cancer is very important. Do not take wild guesses lead to mental stress cause physical discomfort.

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Filed under: Cancer

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