In the following article, Dr. González Farré explains the keys to breast cancer: symptoms, removal, treatment, predisposition to suffer the disease and prevention.
Symptoms
In localized stages, the most frequent symptom of breast cancer is the palpation of a nodule in the breast. Less frequently, there is fluid coming out of the nipple, the appearance of eczema on the nipple or inflammation of the entire breast. Nowadays, many are detected without any symptoms, simply during routine mammography.
If before going to the specialist we wish to perform a self-examination, the steps to follow are:
1) Stand in front of the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms next to your hips. Your breasts should have a normal appearance and size and show no visible deformities or symptoms of pain, redness or itching.
2) If you see abnormalities, raise your arms and see if they continue. Analyze if any of the nipples secrete any clear, milky or yellowish liquid or blood.
3) Lie down and palpate the breasts with your hands inverted, that is, the left hand with the right breast and vice versa. With your fingertips, make a slow, circular motion about the size of a coin.
4) Finally, palpate the breasts while standing or sitting or if you find greater sensitivity in the skin after a shower, it can also be carried out in this way.
Focused excision
Efforts are made, whenever possible, to conserve the breast by removing only the area where the tumor is, although this requires the administration of radiotherapy afterwards; thus obtaining a much better cosmetic result.
As for axillary surgery, we also try to avoid lymphadenectomies. Often, we only look to see if the sentinel lymph node is affected, which would be the first place where the tumor cells would go if they escaped from the original tumor.
Postoperatively, if there is no lymphadenectomy and only the tumor has been removed (conservative surgery), the patient can go home even on the same day of the operation. Otherwise, the hospital stay is longer and immediate postoperative physiotherapy is recommended.
Chemotherapy treatment
Chemotherapy for breast cancer almost always causes hair loss and tiredness in the days following its administration. Mucosal discomfort (dry mouth, small ulcerations, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, worsening of hemorrhoids, etc.), bad taste of food, lowered defenses, decreased fertility in young patients and even menopause, anemia, stomach discomfort, diarrhea or constipation frequently appear. These effects may not appear or, if they do appear, they do so in different forms and severities.
Predisposition
Less than 10% of breast cancers are due to the presence of a gene strongly linked to the development of breast cancer. Its presence confers a high risk of developing this pathology throughout life, more than 60-70%, and makes it frequent at young ages.
Even so, most breast cancers are not caused by any known predisposing alteration. Although there may be an undetermined set of genes that can modulate a person’s susceptibility to breast cancer, along with exposure to some “toxic” or hormone-related factors.
Prevention
The relationship between obesity and the incidence of breast cancer has been fully demonstrated. A healthy diet that allows correct weight control will reduce the number of cases of breast cancer. Sport also reduces estrogen levels, further reducing the risk of breast cancer. Alcohol consumption can also predispose to breast cancer, so avoiding or reducing its consumption can also prevent it.