We are no longer strangers to breast adenocarcinoma. It is a malignant tumor that occurs in the glandular epithelial tissue of the breast. Breast cancer occurs in 99% of women and only 1% of men. Nowadays, breast cancer has become a common tumor that threatens women’s physical and mental health.
Early stage breast cancer often does not have typical symptoms and signs, so it is not easy to attract attention and is often detected through physical examination or breast cancer screening.
1. Breast lumps
80% of breast cancer patients are first diagnosed with breast lumps. Most breast cancers are painless lumps, only a few are accompanied by varying degrees of hidden pain or stabbing pain.
2. Nipple discharge
Blood, plasma, milk or pus flowing from the nipple during non-pregnancy period, or milk still flowing even after stopping breastfeeding for more than six months, is called nipple overflow. Bloody overflow from a single hole on one side should be further examined, and more attention should be paid if it is accompanied by breast lumps.
3.Skin changes
The most common one is the “dimple sign”, that is, a small dimple in the breast skin, like a small dimple. If the cancer cells block the lymphatic ducts, “orange peel-like changes” will appear, which means the skin of the breast will have many small dots and depressions, just like an orange peel.
4.Abnormal nipple and areola
If the tumor is located in or close to the deep part of the nipple, it may cause nipple retraction. If the tumor is far away from the nipple and the large ducts in the breast are invaded and shortened, it may also cause nipple retraction or elevation.
5.Lymph node swelling in the axilla
More than 1/3 of breast cancer patients admitted to most hospitals have axillary lymph node metastasis. At the initial stage, the lymph nodes in the ipsilateral axilla may be swollen, and the swollen lymph nodes are hard, scattered and pushable.
High risk groups
The incidence of breast cancer usually rises gradually after the age of 25, reaches a peak in the age group of 50-54, and gradually decreases after the age of 55;
2.Family history of breast cancer is a risk factor for the occurrence of breast cancer;
3. Dense breast gland is also a risk factor for breast cancer;
4. The first menstruation is earlier than 2 years old and menopause is later than 55 years old;
5. Unmarried, infertile, late childbearing and not breastfeeding;
6.Benign breast diseases that have not been treated in time;
7, suffering from atypical hyperplasia of the breast;
8, the chest has received high doses of radiation exposure;
9, long-term use of exogenous estrogen;
10.Obesity after menopause;
11. Long-term excessive alcohol consumption;
12, as well as patients carrying mutations related to breast cancer.
Self-examination
1. Observe whether there is ulceration or depression of the skin and whether there is discharge from the nipple from all angles, such as front and side.
2.Raise your hands up and observe whether there are indentations in your breasts. And observe the shape of the breasts from all angles, including front and side.
3.Use three fingers other than the thumb and little finger to caress the breasts in a wide range. You can think of the breast as the sun, with the fingers moving in the manner of the earth’s rotation and revolution.
4.In addition to the rotation and revolution method, you can also use a horizontal direction to examine the breasts by stroking them from the outside to the inside.
5. Put your right hand down and reach into your armpit with your left hand to see if you can feel the lymph nodes. Grasp the nipple and check if there is any discharge. (The 9th to 11th day after menstruation is the best time for mammogram)