Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women, and currently about 1.3 million people worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. In major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, breast cancer has been ranked as the top incidence rate of malignant tumors in women. But at the same time, breast cancer is a disease with good treatment effect. According to the data, the five-year survival rate of early stage breast cancer can be as high as 70% after reasonable treatment. It has been proven that early detection of breast cancer is an effective measure to improve the prognosis of breast cancer. How can breast cancer be detected at an early stage? The following suggestions may be helpful to you. Develop good physical examination habits It has been proven that a combination of good breast self-examination habits and formal physical examination is the best way to detect breast cancer at an early stage. The Cancer Society recommends: breast clinical examination every 3 years for those aged 20-40, annual examination for those aged 40 or above, and annual mammogram for those aged 50 or above. Be alert to abnormal signs in the body Clinical studies have found that: lumps in the breast, nipple overflow (especially bloody or clear water-like overflow), mild nipple retraction or erosion, mild indentation or elevation of breast skin, limited breast hyperplasia after drug treatment Signs that do not improve or do not change with the menstrual cycle are often early signs of breast cancer. If any of these signs occur, you should visit a breast specialist as soon as possible. Avoid risk factors of breast cancer by adopting good lifestyle habits Many studies have found that risk factors for breast cancer include: menarche before the age of 12 or menopause after the age of 55, celibacy, late marriage, high age of first birth, obesity, precancerous lesions such as atypical hyperplasia of the breast or papillomatosis in the breast ducts, long-term supplementation of exogenous estrogen after menopause, preference for high-fat and high-protein diet, long-term mental tension and psychological stress, etc. If people develop good habits in daily life, try to avoid the existence of risk factors, and provide appropriate treatment and standardized monitoring for some high-risk lesions of the breast, the risk of breast cancer will be greatly reduced. Understanding the general knowledge of breast cancer treatment to avoid falling into the misunderstanding of prevention and treatment Breast examination for suspicious people, together with auxiliary examinations such as ultrasound and mammogram, and finally performing lump puncture or excisional biopsy to obtain pathological diagnosis are the basic diagnostic methods of breast cancer. However, there is a common misconception that ultrasound, CT, MRI or other instrumental examinations are often used as a substitute for breast examination by clinicians. In fact, there is a certain rate of misdiagnosis regardless of the instrumentation. Sometimes, some breast cancers are not detected by instruments and are detected by physical examination alone. The result of “instrumentation over physical examination” is that some breast cancers are missed.