Health is wealth
Breast Cancer - Detection, Treatment and Precautions
September 23rd 2009 21:00
Detection
• Women aged 40 and above should go for digital mammogram every year.
• Women with family history of breast cancer and other risk factors should get a mammogram done after they are 30.
• Women aged 20 to 39 years should take clinical breast exam by a health expert, at least once in three years.
• Breast self exam is an option for women in their 20s. Use a step-by-step approach of checking your breasts on a set schedule. If you find any changes, see a doctor immediately.
Treatment
• Usually individualized and depends on stage of cancer
• Lumpectomy (removal of tumor), mastectomy (removal of breast) and lymph node dissection are the types of surgeries. Mastectomy’s rarely required.
• Chemotherapy, a systemic treatment, affects the whole body through the blood. The purpose is to get rid of cancer cells that may have spread from where the disease originated to other parts of the body.
• Radiation therapy is a targeted way of destroying cancer cells.
• Hormone therapy, also called anti-estrogen therapy, blocks the ability to estrogen to stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells.
• Other therapies target specific characteristics if cancer cells, such as a protein that allows them to grow in a rapid or abnormal way. These are less likely to harm normal, healthy cells than chemotherapy.
Precautions
• It is among the few cancers that can be detected early.
• Annual mammograms are a must for women above 40 years.
• Meet doctor if there is a family history of breast or other cancer.
• Women aged 40 and above should go for digital mammogram every year.
• Women with family history of breast cancer and other risk factors should get a mammogram done after they are 30.
• Women aged 20 to 39 years should take clinical breast exam by a health expert, at least once in three years.
• Breast self exam is an option for women in their 20s. Use a step-by-step approach of checking your breasts on a set schedule. If you find any changes, see a doctor immediately.
Treatment
• Usually individualized and depends on stage of cancer
• Lumpectomy (removal of tumor), mastectomy (removal of breast) and lymph node dissection are the types of surgeries. Mastectomy’s rarely required.
• Radiation therapy is a targeted way of destroying cancer cells.
• Hormone therapy, also called anti-estrogen therapy, blocks the ability to estrogen to stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells.
• Other therapies target specific characteristics if cancer cells, such as a protein that allows them to grow in a rapid or abnormal way. These are less likely to harm normal, healthy cells than chemotherapy.
Precautions
• It is among the few cancers that can be detected early.
• Annual mammograms are a must for women above 40 years.
• Meet doctor if there is a family history of breast or other cancer.
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