The constant research work on breast cancer has shown a strong link between high fatty foods and breast cancer. Countries with staple food based diets like Japan of the 1950s have recorded minimal occurrence of breast cancer. With this, I’m sure you will want to watch out for the fat content of your food.
Breast cancer continues to be a serious condition that affects 1 in 12 women at some point in their life. Fortunately, it is no longer always life threatening and doesn’t typically permanently scar individuals.
Generally, about 1 in 12 women will contract breast cancer at some age and the odds are higher later in life. Courtesy of modern medicine, many breast cancers can be successfully treated with minimum impact. However, one’s treatment success level is extremely dependent on early detection. The earlier breast cancer is detected the higher your chance for survival. One easy way to increase the odds of early discovery is the performance of a regular breast self exam.
Though still an area of active research, many lifestyle and environmental risk factors for breast cancer have been identified. Fortunately, almost all of them are controllable by an individual seeking to optimize his or her health. Yes, men get breast cancer, too, at about 1/133 the rate of women.
Medical professionals are lucky enough now to be provided with a wide variety of tools to make the diagnosis of breast cancer more reliable during its early stages. This is great news because it increases the odds of keeping the level of breast cancer severity down.
According to official figures, only between 5 10% of breast cancer is caused by genetic influences. But even though the percentage is relatively low, the numbers are high enough to warrant many women and men seeking regular checkups. Yes, men get breast cancer, too. Only about 0.7% as often as women, but it does occur, killing about 12,000 men per year.
A lump in the breast can be one of the first symptoms of breast cancer that you may show. Mostly, the lumps turn out to be harmless and benign, which, to your relief, means that it can not be breast cancer. At times, the first symptom doesn’t have to be a lump, symptoms like abberant changes in the nipples, oozing bloodstained discharges from them, an abnormal change in the shape of the breasts and/or nipples, recurring rashes or even something as trivial as an armpit swelling can be symptoms for breast cancer. The fortunate thing is that though these symptoms indicate breast cancer, you can have some or all of them and still not have breast cancer. However, getting examined by a professional is necessary.
The stage of breast cancer when cancer cells do not remain in the original cancer site and spread out to other parts of the body is called metastatic breast cancer. This is the stage when the cancer is fully advanced. Even if you have been successfully treated for breast cancer, there is a chance that some cancer cells do not die, and later spread out through blood and lymphatic vessels to other body organs. This process is known as metastasis of breast cancer.
In the unfortunate event where a full mastectomy is required to treat breast cancer, reconstruction is often a much welcomed option. With modern technology, techniques, and materials that are available it is possible to restore the breasts appearance to its original form with hardly any visible scarring. When this procedure is carried out it is done so by plastic surgeons specializing in restoration. It has now become a commonplace following a full mastectomy.
Radiation therapy remains one of the most common tools for breast cancer treatment, but it has been refined considerably over the years.
