Statistics show that 1 million new breast cancer patients (200,000 of them in China) are diagnosed worldwide each year, and 200,000 die from this disease each year. In the United States, one in nine women has breast cancer. A questionnaire survey on breast health, breast self-examination and breast diseases for normal women showed that more than 40% of the respondents did not know that breastfeeding is an effective means to prevent and reduce breast cancer. The percentage of those who could do breast self-examination was 63%, of which 19% could insist on doing self-examination regularly and 36% had never done breast self-examination. Among normal women, 82% of them are worried about breast cancer, especially when their relatives or people around them are diagnosed with breast cancer, about 87% of them will feel nervous.
Qiu Xianhua, Department of General Surgery, Anyang Cancer Hospital
What factors can cause female breast cancer
Family history of hereditary breast cancer can be in two forms: one is that the mother has breast cancer and the daughter also has breast cancer, the age of onset is young, often occurs before menopause, mostly bilateral; the other is that the mother has not had breast cancer, but in a family, at least two sisters have breast cancer, the incidence of breast cancer in such families is 2-3 times higher than that in families without family history. The incidence of breast cancer in such families is 2-3 times higher than that in families without family history.
2. Menstrual factors: the risk of breast cancer is 2.2 times greater if the age of menarche is earlier than 12 years old than if the age of menarche is 17 years old; the risk of breast cancer is 1 times greater if the age of menopause is later than 50 years old than if the age of menopause is 45 years old.
3. Excessive abortion: Normal natural abortion does not increase the risk of breast cancer, but repeated abortion or multiple abortions before the age of 18 can easily cause breast diseases and increase the risk of breast cancer.
Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is one of the best natural means to prevent breast cancer, and breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast cancer by 20% to 30%.
5. Poor quality of sex life: Breast diseases and sex life are closely related, and women’s sexual repression can increase the incidence of lobular hyperplasia and breast tumors. Domestic survey shows that 86% of women with lobular hyperplasia have never reached orgasm during sex; the older the age of first marriage, the higher the incidence of breast cancer.
6. Depression: Among single women, ladies left behind, PR girls, retired female workers and some secondary school teachers, more suffer from breast diseases and have a high incidence of breast cancer. As these women are prone to depression, such as tension and anxiety, loneliness and depression, sadness and sorrow, bitterness and disappointment, impatience and irritation, the body’s life rhythm will be disturbed and the function of the neuroendocrine system will be dysfunctional, which will lead to imbalance of the internal environment and decrease of immunity. The ability of lymphocytes and macrophages to monitor and phagocytose mutated cells in the body decreases and cancer is likely to occur.
7. Excessive obesity: obesity is closely related to breast cancer. Girls who are obese are prone to early sexual maturity, which will lay the foundation for breast cancer in the future. The incidence of breast cancer in obese people is 3.45 times higher than that of non-obese people, because excess fat accumulation increases the production of estrogen, and excess estrogen is stored in fatty tissue after being lipidated and constantly released into the bloodstream, which stimulates the breast tissue and, over time, causes breast cancer. In addition, most of the obese people have hypercholesterolemia and hyperinsulinemia. After the cholesterol in the body is elevated, the cholesterol content in the cell membrane of lymphocytes and macrophages increases, which inhibits the immune function.
8. bad habits: to smoke, alcohol as “fashionable”, to nightclubs, dance halls, all night long to immerse themselves in the lights, like to eat fried food and a variety of pastry sweets, but never to rough food, vegetables; celibacy, or after 30 years of age before marriage and childbirth, the child does not want to breastfeed; also some women wear bras Some women wear bras too tight or too loose, losing the role of breast protection.
Prevention of breast cancer
①Advocate marriage at the right age (after 23 years old), childbirth at the right age (24-30 years old) and breastfeeding for one to one and a half years.
②Avoid a diet that is high in fat and calories and increase the content of fiber in food.
③Actively treat benign breast diseases, remove benign breast tumors such as breast fibroids and intraductal papillomas as early as possible, and closely monitor cystic hyperplasia of the breast.
④It is recommended to conduct breast cancer screening by infrared breast scanner, which has a diagnostic rate of over 95%.
⑤ Self-examination is recommended.
How to conduct breast self-examination
(1) Check your breasts in the shower, especially before the shower gel is washed off and your hands are easily moved on the wet skin. Move your flattened hand gently to examine each part of your breast. Examine your left breast with your right hand and your right breast with your left hand to check for lumps, hard knots or thickening.
(2) To examine in front of the mirror, lower both hands to the sides of the body in front of the mirror, then slowly lift both upper limbs up over the head and observe changes in the shape of the breasts, including the outline of the breasts, the presence of swollen portions, and the presence of slightly concave skin or retraction of the nipples. Next, cross your arms and observe whether the bilateral breasts are symmetrical.
(3) To examine while lying down, place a pillow or soft object under the shoulder blade on the side of the breast being examined while lying down. Then place the hand on the same side behind the head so that the tissue of the breast is more evenly apportioned across the chest. The flattened hand is pressed lightly against the skin and the examination is moved gradually, centered on the nipple. The examination begins at the outer top of the breast, clockwise for the right breast and counterclockwise for the left breast; starting at the periphery of the breast and gradually moving inward to the nipple.