How to Help Prevent and Detect Breast Cancer
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, brush up on the best ways to protect yourself from the disease.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a disease that, although it has very high rates, can be detected early (even before any symptoms or lumps in the breast). Time, then, plays a great role when it comes to diagnosing and treating the disease.
Breast cancer treatment can be very effective (the statistics confirm this: the probability of survival is approximately 90 percent) when it is detected at an early stage. On the contrary, a cancer not detected in time has the possibility to progress and invade the surrounding breast tissue, this is when we speak of invasive breast cancer. After that, it spreads to nearby lymph nodes or other organs of the body. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that when a woman dies of breast cancer, it is a consequence of widespread metastasis.
"It is important that women who detect an abnormal swelling in the breast see a health professional without delaying more than one to two months even if they do not feel any pain associated with the nodule," confirms WHO.
Studies show that one in 12 women is affected throughout her life by this pathology, the same institution also ensures that this cancer is the one that causes the highest mortality in women. So it is very important to carry out routine monitoring.
Here are three factors to prevent breast cancer.
Healthy Habits
Prevention begins at home and through good habits. A person with a healthy diet (reducing sugars and bad fats) and weights will have less risk of getting sick; likewise, it is important to exercise at least half an hour a day. Experts also recommend avoiding the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes: factors that in excess increase the probability of contracting breast cancer.
Regular Self Examinations
It is essential to perform self-examination on the fifth day of your menstrual cycle. Knowing our body and detecting any anomaly in time is the difference between an early diagnosis and an advanced pathology. The recommended age to begin self-examinations is 20 years old.
Medical Checks
Along with a routine self-examination, it is necessary to go for gynecological check-ups and have a fully trusted specialist. If you have a family history of cancer, it is important to start getting mammograms at the age of 34. If there is no family history, mammograms should be done every two years starting at 40 and annually after turning 50.
