Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, and about 1.2 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide every year. Although Europe and the United States are the high incidence of breast cancer, the incidence of breast cancer in China is increasing year by year. Currently, there are about 470,000 breast cancer patients in China, and in some cities, breast cancer has become the first place of malignant tumors in women. In recent years, with the development of breast cancer screening and the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the mortality rate of breast cancer has been controlled, and popularizing the knowledge of breast cancer prevention and treatment is now an important public health strategy in China. Risk factors of breast cancer The causes of breast cancer are still unclear, but there are some risk factors that may be related to the development of breast cancer. The first is family history. Women whose mother or sister has breast cancer have 2-3 times higher chance of developing breast cancer than the general population; women with early menarche, late menopause, short menstrual cycle, no childbirth, late childbirth and no breastfeeding also have higher chance of developing breast cancer than the general population; in addition, obesity, alcoholism and estrogen supplementation therapy may increase the risk of developing breast cancer. However, women with the above risk factors are not necessarily at risk of breast cancer, so there is no need to talk about it. Screening for breast cancer is the foundation for early detection and treatment of breast cancer, and is essential not only for women at risk, but also for the general population. Common screening methods include breast self-examination, doctor’s health check, mammogram, etc. The recommended screening principles for women in general are: 18-39 years old: monthly breast self-examination and health check-up once every three years; over 40 years old: monthly breast self-examination, annual health check-up and mammogram. For women with serious risk factors for breast cancer, including obvious family history of breast cancer, mother’s sister diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause, previous history of breast cancer or atypical hyperplasia, etc., they need to be monitored more closely, including: monthly breast self-examination since the detection of risk factors, annual physical examination by a doctor every 4-6 months, annual mammogram from the age of 35, and even mammogram if necessary. If necessary, breast MRI will be performed. 1. Look at the mirror, cross your arms and observe whether there is any abnormality in the shape and outline of both breasts. 2. Raise your arms and observe whether there is any abnormality in the shape, skin, nipples and outline of both breasts. 3. Squeeze your nipples with your thumb and index finger to check the fluid flow: normal: transparent or white fluid; abnormal: rust-colored or purulent fluid. 4. Touch the contralateral axilla and caudal lobe of the breast with your hand for any lumps. 5.Touch both breasts with your hands, turn in small circles, try to cover all the areas, feel the changes under the skin with light pressure, and feel the changes in the deep breast tissue with heavy pressure. The most suitable time for breast self-examination is within one week after each menstrual period, and for women entering menopause, the first day of each month or a day of their own choosing. If necessary, seek professional help for diagnosis and treatment. Breast cancer prevention The prevention of breast cancer begins with the control of high-risk factors, such as childbearing, breastfeeding, reducing estrogen exposure, etc. However, many high-risk factors are difficult to control artificially, such as family history or menstrual status, and these women should pay attention to the role of screening and strive for early diagnosis and treatment. For drug prevention of breast cancer, such as tamoxifen and raloxifene, there is no clear evidence to advocate their widespread use, but for women with severe risk factors, drug prevention can be considered, and even preventive mastectomy can be considered as an option. For women in general, neither pharmacological prevention nor surgical prevention is currently recommended. Treatment of breast cancer The main treatments for breast cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, etc. These treatments need to be rationalized and integrated. Different treatment methods are suitable for different groups of people. In general, for early stage breast cancer, surgery is often the first step, and then the next treatment will be decided according to the patient’s condition and the pathology report after surgery. For some patients with large tumors, chemotherapy can be done first to shrink the mass and then surgery can be performed. For advanced patients with metastasis, treatment is mainly based on chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, and surgery and radiotherapy may also be considered if necessary. In conclusion, the treatment plan for breast cancer varies from person to person, and it is necessary to refer to the advice of oncologists to develop a treatment plan suitable for oneself, rather than blindly copying others’ treatment patterns. Selection of endocrine drugs Most of the breast cancer patients need to receive endocrine therapy all year round, so it is important to have some general knowledge about endocrine therapy. First of all, as long as the pathological results confirm that estrogen receptor (ER) is positive or progesterone receptor (PR) is positive, endocrine therapy needs to be considered; the current standard duration of endocrine therapy is about 5 years after surgery, but some patients use it even longer; there are many types of endocrine drugs, one drug does not apply to all people, and drug selection needs to follow the advice of professional doctors. Whether one is menopausal or not is important for the choice of endocrine drugs. Tamoxifen or toremifene treatment can be chosen whether one is menopausal or not, while aromatase inhibitors are only for postmenopausal patients, and such drugs currently include: anastrozole, letrozole, exemestane. The significance of HER-2 receptor HER-2 receptor, also known as C-erbB2, is an important pathological feature of breast cancer. Currently, it is commonly detected by immunohistochemistry, and the results are expressed as (-), (+), (++), (+++), and (++++), which indicate the expression of HER-2 receptor from weak to strong, respectively.(-) and (+) patients belong to HER-2 low expression, and (+++) and (++++) belong to HER-2 high expression. High expression of the HER-2 receptor is a bad indicator that such patients may be at increased risk of relapse and metastasis or may not respond well to some treatments, but not all such patients have a poor prognosis, and there are many patients with HER-2(++) or (++++) who do not relapse for life. Treatments for HER-2 receptors have become available, such as trastuzumab (trade name: Herceptin) or lapatinib (trade name: Tykerb), but the need for, or timing of, such treatments requires the advice of a medical professional. It is expensive and is not widely used at present. Chinese medicine treatment for breast cancer Chinese medicine treatment is a unique traditional treatment in China, which is also helpful for breast cancer patients. It can improve the quality of life, reduce toxicity and improve the quality of life. The treatment emphasizes “holistic concept, dialectical treatment” and “supporting the righteous and expelling the evil”, but how to determine the priority of supporting the righteous and expelling the evil should be decided according to the actual situation of the patient. It is important to go to a regular TCM hospital to find a regular TCM doctor to receive treatment. TCM doctors need to know the basic principles of tumor treatment in order to achieve a reasonable combination of Chinese and Western medicine. Do not easily believe in small advertisements, local prescriptions, secret prescriptions or charlatan doctors. Breast cancer review Breast cancer is a systemic disease and a malignant tumor with the risk of recurrence and metastasis, so regular review is needed to detect tumor recurrence or metastasis in time to get treatment. The interval of review is generally based on the time after surgery. Within 2 years after surgery, review every 3-6 months; 2-5 years after surgery, review every 6-12 months; 5 years after surgery, review every 12 months. The review interval also needs to be shortened for certain patients with high-risk factors, or for patients with abnormal findings. Prevention and reduction of arm edema Many breast cancer patients suffer from the confusion of arm edema of the affected upper limb, which is a common long-term complication after breast cancer surgery, and the current treatment is limited and not very effective. However, through reasonable methods, the occurrence of edema can be prevented and reduced to some extent. For example: avoid heavy physical work, strenuous exercise or fatigue use on the same side of the operated arm; avoid prolonged exposure of that side of the arm to high temperature environment (hot compress, hot baking, sauna, etc.); move the affected arm appropriately, avoid prolonged braking, elevate the arm frequently, and if necessary, push upwards from the bottom or wear an elastic cuff; try not to use the affected arm for infusion, injection, blood pressure measurement, blood sampling, etc. Clinical trials of drugs for breast cancer are actually a kind of medical research, which is conducive to the progress of medicine and often helps patients to obtain more advanced diagnostic and treatment methods. Especially in breast cancer, new therapeutic drugs are constantly emerging, which may bring benefits and new hope to patients during the trial stage. In addition to access to new treatments, participation in clinical trials can also save on medical costs, as these drugs are often free of charge; and patients who participate in clinical trials often have access to more specialized physicians. Of course, the treatment conducted in clinical trials is not a proven treatment after all, and participation in clinical trials carries certain risks. There is no guarantee that a trial drug will achieve the desired outcome, that it will be more effective than existing drugs, or that it will allow breast cancer patients to live longer. Moreover, any drug may have different side effects, and new drugs are no exception. Therefore, it is important to fully understand the whole trial and listen to the opinions of relevant experts beforehand to make a careful decision whether or not to participate in a clinical trial and when to participate in a trial. In conclusion, breast cancer is a common malignant tumor, and with the progress of medicine, its treatment level is improving year by year, and now it has been classified as a chronic disease. It is believed that with the joint efforts of doctors and patients, the treatment effect of breast cancer can be further improved and the quality of life of patients can be improved.