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October 19: World Breast Cancer Day


Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumour in the female population. Raising women's awareness of the importance of knowing breast self-examination techniques, periodic check-ups and mammography are essential in order to be able to detect it in time.
 
The importance of early detection of breast cancer through the use of mammography and other techniques is fundamental as they change the prognosis of the disease.
 
Early diagnosis is vital because the chances of cure depend on it, which can be 100% if detected early.
 
The woman must learn to know her body well and thus appreciate any sign of alarm. Specialists recommend all women over 20 years of age to
perform breast self-examination every month.
After age 25, it's best to have your breasts examined annually by a breast specialist. And starting at age 40, it's a good idea to have a regular mammogram.
 
It is enough to be a little attentive to any change in the breasts and if you notice any, go quickly to the doctor, the only one able to assess through specific tests, such as mammography, ultrasound or magnetic resonance if it is a breast cancer.
 
Self-examination can be performed in front of a mirror to appreciate any change in the color and texture of the breasts. Once both breasts have been observed, the examination will
is completed by probing.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

  • A lump the size of a pea or hazelnut (doesn't have to be painful). A hard, dense mass, immobile on palpation.
  • Asymmetrical abnormalities. They usually only appear in one of the breasts.
  • Nipple retracted (in an inverted position to normal).
  • Changes in the color of the areola (the dark-toned skin surrounding the nipple).
  • Alterations in the texture of the skin of the breast (orange peel, redness, cracks).
  • Increase in the number of visible veins in one of the breasts.
  • Asymmetries in breast size.

You should perform the self-examination yourself every month after your period, or if you no longer have it, on a fixed day of each month.
 
Just follow these simple instructions:

 

Stand in front of a mirror with your arms down and check that your breasts remain the same size and shape as always, your skin is smooth and has no wrinkles or roughness and that the bottom edge is regular.

Raise your arms slowly to a vertical position and see if you find any noticeable difference between your breasts (such as skin depressions) or in your armpits.

With your arms raised, turn your body and check that there are no alterations in the profile of your breasts.
To proceed with palpation, you must be lying down. Imagine that your breast is divided into four parts or quadrants. Explore successively the four quadrants of each breast as follows:

Left side: Lying on the bed, raise your left arm and place your hand under your head and with your right hand with your fingers together and stretched out, touch the four quadrants successively.

Right side: Raise your right arm and with your left hand recognize the four quadrants of your right breast. Explore the armpits carefully with slightly curved fingertips.

Mammography
It's an X-ray of the breast. It is performed with a special X-ray device for breasts, which with very low doses of radiation is able to detect various problems, mainly Breast Cancer.

The breast is placed in the mammograph and the breast is briefly compressed during the examination, but this is not painful. The information it provides regarding neoformations, microcalcifications and distortions of the mammary tissue guides us to a definitive diagnosis.

Ultrasound
The mammary ultrasound is a test that is complemented with the previous one, in many occasions it allows to describe with better detail intrama- mary structures as the cysts.

Ultrasound is also indicated for young or high-density breasts.
The doctor gently slides a probe over the breast that emits ultrasonic waves. As they pass through the tissues, these waves bounce off them, producing ultrasonic echoes that appear on the ultrasound screen and can be photographed.

Breast Nuclear Resonance
It's an MRI of the breasts. It is used as a complementary study to the previous tests and for high-risk patients.

Stereotaxia-guided puncture or biopsy
It is a technique that allows a lesion to be studied with great precision, either by obtaining a sample of some cells (fine needle puncture or PAAF) or tissue (biopsy with coarse needle or BAG).

BAV System - Vacuum Assisted Biopsy
It is a biopsy system that allows to obtain with a single puncture, multiple cylinders a few millimeters thick allowing a proper histopathological study.