Elderly people with breast cancer choose not to treat it in order not to involve their children, but they do not know that breast cancer patients have a long natural survival period, and daily bleeding is enough to drag down the whole family; women under 35 years old are recommended not to use X-ray for breast examination, not because of the factor of radiation damage, but because women in this age group have high density of breast, and molybdenum X-ray is difficult to penetrate and cannot be observed; if any of the receptors of estrogen and progesterone is positive, they should receive endocrine therapy ……
Morbidity
On the one hand, with the advancement of technology and social development, the understanding and treatment progress of breast cancer among doctors and patients are changing day by day, on the other hand, there are still many misconceptions that need to be clarified one by one.
Breast cancer patients have a longer natural survival period
”Breast cancer is a type of tumor with high incidence and there are many life stories related to it.” I have seen a large number of kind-hearted elderly people who have long found a lump in their own breast and also foresee that it may be cancer, but considering the heavy burden of their children, they quietly endure the pain of having cancer and intend to pass away peacefully one day.
”This kind of thinking is not only impossible to realize, but also ends up dragging themselves and their families to work harder.” It is important to know that even if breast cancer is not treated, its natural survival period is longer than other tumors, unlike liver cancer and other rapidly progressing tumors, which may not work at all in half a year. “I have seen many old ladies who dragged to the advanced stage and it was already difficult to hide it from their family members because the breast cancer was large and fixed, bleeding more than once a day and even developing to ulceration, the patient suffered from severe anemia as a result and the surgery was unbearable, not to mention the great pain she suffered herself, and the financial burden on her family was even heavier.”
”We advise our older female friends not to hide the abnormality and refuse to seek medical treatment, if breast cancer is diagnosed early, timely surgery can return to the society and even work like a normal person, and the survival rate is high for more than ten years and the cost is also the most economical, so don’t do bad things with good intentions.”
Screening
Mammogram is good when you are over 35 years old
The international standard today is that mammograms are not suitable for women under the age of 35. For this reason, many people have a fear of X-ray examinations. In this regard, we clearly inform you that “in order to achieve early detection of cancer, once a year mammogram is a proven means. The reason why women under 35 years old are recommended to take other examinations is not because of the side effects, but because women in this age group have high density of breast, which makes it difficult for mammography to penetrate, and the effect is discounted, so ultrasound examination is more appropriate at this time.”
After the age of 40, women’s breast tissue gradually begins to shrink and is replaced by fatty tissue, and mammography is effective, with an efficiency of up to 80%. “Ultrasound has a large artificial error, while mammography has the benefit of being sensitive to the response of tiny calcifications and is more objective, alerting the possibility of cancer if signs of breast calcification are found.”
In addition, for people at high risk of breast cancer, such as those who are younger than 12 years old at the age of menarche or older than 55 years old at menopause, those who are older than 35 years old at the age of their first child or have not given birth, those who have not breastfed after giving birth, and those who have breast cancer patients in their family, regular mammograms are recommended in combination with monthly self-exams and regular clinical checkups.
Myths
Puncture biopsy will spread cancer cells? Wrong!
Many primary care physicians suspect that a patient has breast cancer, and before a puncture biopsy is performed, they will remove the patient at the first time with the policy of “it is better to kill than to let go”. I have something to say about this.
”Unlike other types of cancer, breast cancer cells develop slowly, usually taking three to five years to complete cancerous transformation, so radical surgery within two weeks to one month of diagnosis is not a delay at all.” Many patients and even doctors worry that puncture biopsy will make cancer cells spread faster, which is actually a very wrong view.
”Cancer is a systemic disease, and cancer cells have long been transported through the bloodstream to other parts of the body, which means that cancer cells are spreading as usual with or without a puncture, and there is no evidence that a puncture biopsy will cause the disease to worsen. And the U.S. still insists on puncture biopsies for more than 90 percent of patients for breast cancer screening and treatment.”
Treatment
Endocrine therapy is required for 70 percent of patients
”There are four major areas of breast cancer treatment: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy, and now there are biological therapies as well as immunological therapies being introduced.” Endocrine therapies have become increasingly important due to the effectiveness of follow-up findings in improving patient survival.
”But anyone who is positive for either estrogen or progesterone receptors should receive endocrine therapy, and this population represents about 70 percent of patients.” Practice has shown that patients receiving postoperative endocrine therapy achieve effective improvements in disease-free survival (without recurrence) and even overall survival (with or without recurrence) rates.