Alternative Cancer Treatment - The How of Breast Self-Exam?
Saturday, June 21st, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Overall, about 1 in 12 women will contract breast cancer at some age, with the odds higher later in life. But thanks to modern medicine, many breast cancers can be successfully treated with only minor impact. However, the success of that treatment depends critically on early detection, and the earlier the better. One simple way to up the odds of discovery is to perform a regular breast self examination.
The purpose of breast self examination is early detection of changes that might signal a condition that needs further investigation by either a professional clinical exam, mammogram or other diagnostic tool. Any changes could potentially indicate an abnormality. But to be able to determine what is abnormal one must know what is normal. Normal varies from individual to individual even though there are commonalities.
The first element in conducting a proper breast self exam is having knowledge of what your breasts normally feel and look like. Every aspect of your body goes through subtle changes on a regular basis. During the menstrual cycle those changes tend to be exaggerated. Breasts might become enlarged or more sensitive. It is ideal to begin your self-exam a few days after your period every month so that it becomes a habit. Post-menopausal women should try and choose the same day of each month to perform the exam.
Stand in front of a mirror unclothed and make a visual inspection. Look for changes in the size of only one breast. Normal menstrual cycles and other hormonally related variation will usually affect both the same. Look for any changes in size or color of the nipple or areola (the darker skin around the nipple). Note any wrinkling or ‘orange peel’ appearance that is not due to cold temperature. Most areola are round. Look for any lack of symmetry.
Squeeze a nipple gently and note any fluid that comes out. Some lactation is normal in some women. But yellowish, pus-like fluid is a reason to call your physician for a closer look. It may be a simple infection or it could be an early sign of a developing tumor. Repeat the procedure for the other nipple.
Continue to look for any such tumors by feeling carefully over the surface of the entire breast with the arms lowered. Take in not just the surface from the breastbone to side, but up toward the armpit as well. Press firmly with the finger pads and move the hand slowly, feeling for any thickening or lumps.
Not all lumps are cancerous, in actuality most of them aren’t. A lump could be a simple cyst- which is a fluid filled tissue sac. Often the can be moved slightly and are round. These are benign, but you might want to have them removed regardless. Some will fade away spontaneously over time.
Cancerous lumps are typically harder and less regular in their shape and size. Typically they are attached to breast tissue. Not all hard lumps are cancerous either, so don’t get yourself worked up. Many are what are called fibroadenomas, a benign clump of cells. Professional testing is required to know for sure what you have.
Be particularly aware of any lumps which change in size. Cancer is a malignant, uncontrolled growth of cells in tissue. As such, cancer tumors don’t remain static but increase in size and, later, may spread to other parts of the body.
Continue the self exam by placing the arms overhead and then applying pressure all the way from the breastbone up to the armpit again. Repeat this process on both sides of the body.
You want to make sure you perform the procedure again, this time while lying down with the arms lowered and then raised overhead. This is again for the observation of any changes, especially tissues that have become hard. The procedure can be repeated in the shower in effort to reduce friction on the skin, but sometimes it is difficult to find changes or lumps when water is splashing on your skin, you might want to use baby oil instead.
Any woman over age 20 should be performing regular breast self-exams, while those over 40 should get a mammogram at least annually.
Can there really be a natural way to fight cancer cell ? Yes, fucoidan, was proven scientifically to do just that. The extract from brown seaweed. Visit my site at Alternative Cancer Treatment see how this wonderful food is backed by more then 600 indepandent research.
You are welcome to reprint this article, however, you can get your own unique content version here.
Technorati Tags: Alternative Cancer Treatment, alternative therapy, breast cancer, breast cancer treatment, cancer, Cancer treatment, health, natural therapy
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts
