Breast cancer - Diagnosis, symptoms and tips to prevent breast cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women.
Symptoms include a lump or thickening of the breast,
and changes to the skin or the nipple.
Risk factors can be genetic, but some lifestyle factors,
such as alcohol intake, make it more likely to happen.
A range of treatments is available, including surgery,
radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Many breast lumps are not cancerous,
but any woman who is concerned about a lump or change should see a doctor.
In cancer, the body's cells multiply uncontrollably.
It is the excessive cell growth that causes cancer.
The first symptoms of breast cancer
are usually an area of thickened tissue in the breast,
or a lump in the breast or in an armpit.
Other symptoms include:
a pain in the armpits or breast that does not change with the monthly cycle
pitting or redness of the skin of the breast,a discharge from a nipple, possibly containing blood,a sunken or inverted nipple,a change in the size or shape of the breast,
peeling, flaking, or scaling of the skin on the breast, or nipple
Most lumps are not cancerous, but women should have them checked by a health care
professional.
