Why is it that when the topic of breast cancer crops up in conversation some women tend to shy away in belief that they personally are exempt from contacting the disease? Listen up ladies breast cancer is serious and can affect any one of us at any time. It is in every woman's best interest to do regular self breast examinations. Many cancers are curable and the odds get better for survival if the cancer is caught in the early stage.



Ignorance is a deadly concoction for those in denial after finding a lump in their breast or any other type of health abnormality. If you choose to ignore the warning signs on health matters as such then you may be living under threat of a death sentence.

Early detection of breast cancer with the aid of modern medicine will definitely give a woman hope in curing the breast cancer if diagnosis was sanctioned.

Breast awareness should be practised by every female regardless of age. What is meant by awareness is where you are encouraged to get intimate with your self i.e. looking for abnormalities in the breast. Women need to know what is normal and what is abnormal. Change in look and texture of the breasts is a common way that women can tell if something is not right.

Symptoms that you need to check for and may suggest that something is not right are lumps or thickening of the tissue, pain is also another factor that can denote a problem. A common change is discharge from the nipple any unusual appearance or sensation to tethering of the skin. Why cause your self unnecessary stress where you maybe worrying over something or nothing. Only your doctor after giving you an examination is in the position to let you know if any of the above symptoms are caused by breast cancer being present.

As we speak there are no definite causes to blame for the disease, however, certain risk factors have been identified like inheritance i.e. inherited gene mutations. Of course just because you may have had a relative contract breast cancer at some time does not mean that you will.

Life's natural function of the aging process is another risk factor that sees 80 per cent of breast cancer affect women when in the post-menopausal period. As the woman ages the more genetic damage accumulates in the cells, increasing the risk that the genes which direct growth will go out of control. Other certain risk factors have been labelled as having no children or children late in life, taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and starting your periods early or the menopause late. Once again these are speculative causes believed to be risk factors.

Scientific study has enlightened us that taking the contraceptive pill can slightly increase the risk of breast cancer. It is of the utmost importance that you see your doctor or nurse at the clinic if you find an abnormal lump etc. If breast cancer is detected then the right treatment can be carried out or the right medicine administered.

An examination more often than not will include blood tests and chest x-ray. if you have a lump then the doctor may need to take a closer look possibly using an ultrasound, mammogram, needle aspiration and/or needle biopsy. However some tests may need to go further where certain examinations include having liver or bone scans. Some women tend to scare themselves when reading about breast or cervical cancer, and it because of this that they choose to ignore and in some cases dismiss the fact that their problem maybe cancer related. This is not a healthy approach in looking for a cure.