When it comes to tumors, especially cancer, most people have the fear of talking about it. In fact, most tumors are preventable and treatable. Their occurrence and development are inseparable from people’s attitude and habits, especially their anxiety and dietary habits. If we can control ourselves in these aspects, the chance of developing tumors and cancer in the future will be greatly reduced, and the quality of life will be significantly improved. 1.Why do you get breast cancer? The causes of breast cancer are not yet fully understood. However, a large number of clinical epidemiological findings show that estrogen is inseparable from the occurrence of breast cancer. Estrogen is a physiological hormone, which is generally released at a relatively constant rate or in a certain rhythm, just like a car driving smoothly on the highway at a constant speed. Once such a regular movement is disturbed by the outside world, the normal fluctuation of hormone levels will naturally be disrupted. Women go through several important moments in their lives: menarche, pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause, all accompanied by changes in estrogen. The age of menarche for most people is 12 to 14 years old; the optimal age for childbirth is 25 to 35 years old; and menopause is 45 to 55 years old. If estrogen levels conform to these changes, they will not cause abnormal effects on the body. However, if artificial or external factors (such as excessive estrogen supplementation, non-pregnancy or non-breastfeeding) affect these stages, resulting in sudden changes in estrogen levels, just like the sudden slamming on the gas pedal or emergency brakes of an originally smoothly running car, which will cause impact damage to the drive train in the car, such sudden changes in hormones will also stimulate the breast epithelium and induce cellular malignancy, leading to breast cancer. 2.Who are prone to breast cancer? The occurrence of breast cancer is the result of a combination of factors. Women with the following high-risk factors are at higher risk of breast cancer: 1) Family history of breast cancer. Epidemiological surveys have found that 5% to 10% of breast cancers are familial. In particular, if there is a mother or sister who has breast cancer, then the family is at high risk and the risk of the disease is 2 to 3 times higher than that of the general population. 2) Early menarche and late menopause. People who have their first menstruation before the age of 12 and menopause after the age of 55 belong to the high-risk group, and their risk of breast cancer is 1 to 2 times higher than that of the general population because the breast gland is subjected to estrogen for too long, which can easily cause breast cancer. (3) Single, late childbearing and not breastfeeding. Women who have not given birth or give birth after the age of 35 have a higher incidence of breast cancer than those who gave birth before the age of 30. Currently, one of the clearest risk factors identified by the medical community for the occurrence of breast cancer is that of women who have not given birth, due to their lack of protection from progesterone and their greater vulnerability to excess estrogen stimulation. In addition, breastfeeding can reduce a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. The results of a British study showed that the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower the risk of breast cancer later. 4) High-fat diet and obesity. Excessive intake of high-protein, high-fat food can cause an increase in estrogen levels and increase the risk of breast cancer. Studies show that the risk of breast cancer in obese people is 1 to 1.5 times higher than that of normal weight people, and the risk of breast cancer spreading is twice as high. If a woman is overweight or obese after menopause, the chance of developing breast cancer increases by 30%. 5) Long-term stress and depression. Young urban women face fierce competitive pressure and are mentally stressed for a long time, which leads to emotional instability and unrest, coupled with frequent late nights and overtime work, the body does not get enough rest. 6) Receiving long-term estrogen therapy. Women who receive long-term estrogen therapy such as menopausal hormone replacement therapy or other hormone replacement therapies will have a correspondingly increased risk of breast cancer. 7) Breast enlargement. Benign breast hyperplasia is usually not malignant, but those with older age, longer medical history, larger lumps, or lumps not obviously related to menstruation may have malignant changes and should be seen in hospital in time. 3.How to detect early breast cancer? Poor awareness of cancer prevention, irregular and unpopular breast cancer screening make the early diagnosis rate of breast cancer for women in China less than 30%, while more than 80% of breast cancer in the United States is diagnosed at an early stage. This significant gap reveals the general lack of awareness of breast cancer self-examination and self-examination in China. According to a survey conducted by the Chinese Population Association, only 5% of women in China have an annual mammogram and 31% of women do not know how to self-test. For women over 20 years old, a monthly breast self-examination can help detect lumps at an early stage. The 9th to 11th day after menstruation is the best time for breast examination, when estrogen has less influence on the breast and the breast is in a relatively static state, making it easy to detect lesions.