On October 20, the World and All-Ukrainian Breast Cancer Day is held. The purpose of this Day is to draw the attention of the world community to the problems of early diagnosis and treatment of this disease. According to WHO, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the world.
In Ukraine, breast cancer is also the leader among women's oncological diseases: every year, about 16.5 thousand women learn about their diagnosis. The main reason for high mortality from this disease is late diagnosis.
It is worth remembering that the diagnosis of breast cancer is not a sentence - timely prevention and early diagnosis - saves life. Cancer is curable when detected: at stage I - in 95% of women, at stage II - in 80% of women, at stage III - in 50% of women. Every woman should know that even in the absence of health complaints, only regular visits to doctors will allow the disease to be detected at an early stage.
To prevent breast cancer, it is important to follow a healthy lifestyle (abstain from smoking and alcohol, regularly engage in physical activity and maintain a normal body weight), as well as undergo an ultrasound of the mammary glands once a year for women under 40 and a mammogram once every two years , for women over 40 years old. Also, all women over the age of 20 should self-examine the mammary glands every month.
Symptoms and first signs of breast cancer:
- painless dense formation in the mammary gland;
- change in the shape of the mammary gland;
- wrinkling or pulling in of the breast skin;
- a feeling of discomfort or pain in one of the mammary glands;
- sealing or swelling on the nipple, as well as its retraction;
- bloody discharge from the nipples;
- an increase in lymph nodes under the armpit on one side.
At least one of these symptoms is a sufficient reason to immediately consult a doctor!
