Breast cancer: The sooner you know, the longer you live!

Breast cancer occurs when malignant tumours develop in the breast.  The cells break away from the original tumour and spread by entering blood vessels or lymph vessels, which branch into tissues throughout the body. Metastasis occurs when cancer cells spread and damage other tissues and organs.

Breast cancer is more common in women though men can get it too. Being female is the main risk factor for breast cancer; other factors being advancing age, bad lifestyle, family history or exposure to radiation. The risk can slightly be high for a woman who has had benign breast lumps and increase significantly for a woman who has had a history of breast, endometrial, ovarian, or colon cancer. The risk of breast cancer is largely influenced by the extent of exposure of a woman's body to her sex hormones. A woman's risk for breast cancer is increased if she starts menarche early, bears child late, never breast feeds or attains menopause later in life. Lifestyle factors like obesity, drug, alcohol or tobacco abuse imposes high risk predominately on postmenopausal women.

Most of the lumps that occur in the breast are benign, very few turn out to be malignant. Breast cancer should be suspected only if a lump in the breast or underarm is painless, if there is a flattening or indentation, any not iceable change in the size, contour, texture, or temperature of the breast, a reddish, pitted surface like the skin of an orange could be a sign of advanced breast cancer, an unusual discharge from the nipple, a marble-like area under the skin or anything distinctly different.

Breast canceroccur in various types they are; ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, triple negative breast cancer, inflammatorybreast cancer metastatic breast cancer, breast cancer during pregnancy and other less common types of breast cancer like medullary carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, and mucinous carcinoma.

Breast cancer is classified between 0-4 stages based on the extent of its metastasis.  The treatment recommended is based on the type of cancer, its stage, the patient's age and health, the speed of growth of the cancer cells, and genetic factors.

The main aim of breast cancer campaign is to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of breast cancer among the general public through education on its symptoms, treatment and management.  The knowledge about the causes and risk factors play an important role in its early detection which could lead to better treatment outcomes and longevity.

Good lifestyle practices that includes regular exercise, balanced diet, and healthy weight management promotes good overall health and also reduces the risks of breast cancer especially in menopausal women. Regular breast exams and mammograms are also recommended for early detection that lowers the chances of death from the disease.