What are the symptoms of early stage breast cancer? Early stage breast cancer is usually asymptomatic and nothing is felt. Even for many patients, their lumps are not well-defined. When the lump is smaller than 1 cm, it may not be palpable. Not only the patient cannot feel it herself, but some doctors may not necessarily feel it even when they go to feel it. Some patients may have a vague pain, but it is not very obvious. If you are over 40 years old, you should be alert and go to the hospital for some imaging tests. Is family history an important causative factor of breast cancer? The causes of breast cancer are generally not very clear and even controversial, but it is now clear that family factors have some influence, but not all breast cancers are familial, most are disseminated. Most of the cases are disseminated. In women, the ovaries produce more estrogen or the ratio of estrogen to other hormones is imbalanced, which is an important cause of breast cancer. For example, if a woman has early menarche or late menopause, or if she has not had children, or if she is obese after menopause, her ovaries may produce less estrogen and other hormones may be converted to estrogen, leading to an increase in the incidence of breast cancer. All in all, breast cancer is the result of multifactorial long-term effects. Breast cancer examination methods Physical examination is an important examination method, which is called clinical palpation or physical examination. This method is usually used by a specialist clinician, and it is easier to feel the tumor if it is more than 1-2 cm and the location is superficial. If the lump is small and deep, buried in the breast gland, and the female breast is relatively large, sometimes it cannot be felt and can only be examined by instruments. Mammogram Mammogram is the standard term for an X-ray of the breast, which is the most common method of detecting breast cancer. Many large-scale studies have been done in the West to screen for breast cancer, and regular mammograms in specific populations can increase the early detection rate of breast cancer. In Eastern women, because of the relatively small size of the breast, the dense glands and the relatively low fat content of the glands, mammography alone may not be suitable for some people. In China, it is generally recommended for women to have this test after the age of 40. If there are high-risk factors, it is also possible to do it at the age of 35 or older. Generally, it is done once every two years between the ages of 40 and 50, and once a year between the ages of 50 and 60, but the time interval should not be too short, at least a year or more, if the time interval is short the x-ray itself will have some effect on the body, and doing too much has the potential to be harmful. Ultrasound examination Younger patients have denser breast glands, sometimes it is not easy for X-ray to penetrate, ultrasound can play its advantage, especially for some liquid cysts, sometimes X-ray may not see clearly, but ultrasound can. The accuracy of the ultrasound results is closely related to the quality of the machine itself and the level of experience of the ultrasonographer. In addition, for older patients, it is better to do a supplemental X-ray examination on top of the ultrasound examination.