Breast Cancer Awareness + Self Examination Guide

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October is a month set aside to raise awareness for the menace that is Breast Cancer. Globally there is a yearly death toll of 41,400 people of which 40,920 are women and 480 are men.

This blog post highlight some key questions that people have regarding Breast Cancer is what it means, symptoms, diagonosis, treatment, risk factors, and preventive methods in a lay man’s understanding.

What is breast cancer?

Cancer is an uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells which can destroy body tissues. Breast cancer is a type of cancerous growth that affects breast tissues.

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

Breast cancer can be diagonised through a number of ways

Screening: a Self examination and Clinical examination

Biopsy : A tissue from suspicious area is collected and tested for cancerous cells.

Mammogram: an Xray viewing of the breast.

Self Examination

Self Examination should be done once every month, at least 3 – 4 days days after your menstrual cycle and If you notice any changes or issues, visit your doctor.

The proper way to do a BSE

Risk Factors

Some of the factors that increase your risk of getting breast cancer are:

Being a woman
Getting older: Women who are above 50 have a higher chance of getting breast cancer.
Hereditary
Personal history of cancer
Exposure to radiation
Late pregnancy: Women who give birth after 30, do not breast feed and have never had a full term pregnancy are more at risk.
Lack of physical activity
Not maintaining a healthy diet
Smoking and alcohol consumption
Taking hormones and birth control pills.

Symptoms

Inversion of the nipple
Nipple discharge
Swelling and irregular sized breasts
Skin irritation or dimpling
Breast or nipple pain
Visible Lymph nodes
Redness, thickening of the nipple or breasts.
Lumps in the breast

Note: Some of these symptoms can be caused by other health conditions so see a doctor for proper diagnosis.

Is Breast cancer treatable? How?

Yes breast cancer can be treated, early detection is very important to surviving cancer.

Some of the possible treatment for Breast Cancer are :

Surgery
Radiation therapy
Chemotherapy
Hormonal therapy
Systemic therapy

For more research here

How can one prevent Breast Cancer?

Eat whole foods.
Avoid over processed foods
Maintain a healthy weight and diet
Don’t Smoke
Reduce your alcohol consumption
Lessen the dosage and duration of hormonal therapy
Limit use of oral contraceptives
Avoid exposure to radiation and environmental pollution
Use the right gear when being exposed to chemicals and UV rays.

Cancer support groups in Ghana

Cancer Support Network of Ghana – @cancersupportnetworkghana

Pink for Africa – @pinkforafrica

Save Ghana Cancer Foundation

Cancer Society of Ghana

Run for a Cure Ghana

Note

Let’s make conscious efforts to examine our breasts constantly, maintain healthy lifestyles, remind our loved ones to examine their breasts and be supportive of people who are going through the pain of cancer.

Donate as much as you can to help people battling cancer.