2 millimeters – a tumor of this size can be seen on a mammograph. This device using X-rays detects pathological formations. Ultrasound is done at a younger age (up to 35 years).
Mammography takes 5 minutes. During the procedure, the chest is compressed to get a better picture. In this case, a woman may experience slight discomfort.
If there are no special indications, then a mammogram can be done once every two years, subject to constant monitoring by a mammologist and regular self-examination of the mammary glands. During a mammogram, a woman receives the same dose of radiation as with fluorography, which doctors oblige doctors to do annually. This dose is not enough for the development of cancer, even with repeated examination throughout life.
Who is at risk for breast cancer
Of particular importance is heredity, lack of childbirth and child feeding, age. The largest number of cases of breast cancer is found among women 40-60 years old.
Additional factors:
- Obesity.
- Lack of exercise.
- Abrupt cessation of breastfeeding.
- Chest injuries.
- Postponed mastitis (in 8% of women in the ducts of the mammary glands, an increased amount of pathogenic flora is found, which until a certain point does not manifest itself, but during breastfeeding can provoke inflammation).
A mammogram is best done on days 5-10 of the menstrual cycle. For those who are in menopause, it doesn’t matter when the study is conducted. Decryption of the results is carried out by a mammologist.
Self breast examination
To conduct an independent examination of the mammary glands, you also need to wait 5-11 days of the cycle.
Here’s how to do a study at home in front of a mirror.
- Strip to the waist. Look in the mirror at the mammary glands. They must be symmetrical, be the same size.
- Raise your hands and look at your chest again. Did they stay the same and symmetrically arranged?
- Feel each breast in a spiral for lumps, see if there are any discharge from the nipples. Feel the armpits, it is important that there are no bumps, when pressed, there is no pain in the lymph nodes. Repeat with each mammary gland while lying down.
Do such a simple procedure every month. With early detection of a tumor, the breasts are retained. It should alert the retraction of the nipple and the expansion of blood vessels on the chest. In this case, sign up to a mammologist, even if you have not found seals.
What is bad for the chest?
Sudden temperature changes. Before you start taking a contrast shower in the morning, just in case, go through an ultrasound of the mammary glands (at least a mammogram is better if you are over 35 years old, and a full examination by a mammologist).
Stress. No wonder with mastopathy it is advised to visit a psychotherapist. Most often, mastopathy, cysts, cancer occur in women who have survived grief, violence, a difficult divorce from her husband.
Gynecological diseases. They lead to an imbalance of sex hormones.
Endocrine disorders of the thyroid and pancreas. Diabetes patients are at risk.
Women at whom menstruation began early, and childbirth were postponed until 27-28 years, are at greater risk.
Bad habits are another cause of tumors in the chest. By the way, this includes not only smoking and the consumption of large quantities of alcohol, but also the passion for coffee. It increases estrogen and prolactin levels. And this is just the main cause of mastopathy.
A large number of abortions negatively affect the chest. A sharp termination of pregnancy provokes a hormonal malfunction in the body, configured to bear the baby.
Think before you do breast augmentation. Traumatic effects on the mammary glands increase the risk of cancer.
What will benefit the mammary glands?
Here’s what you can do to improve your breast condition and prevent cancer:
- Avoid unreasonable use of antibiotics and hormones.
- Try to have more positive emotions in your life.
- Find a permanent partner.
- Buy meat from animals raised on natural feeds without antibiotics and hormones.
- Give preference to cotton linen, which is important to choose the right size.
- Cover your chest while on the beach and in the solarium, do not sunbathe at noon, preferably in the early morning or at sunset.
- Do not take antidepressants unnecessarily, try to achieve balance by natural means – meditation, massage, making the right diet with enough vitamins of group B. The listed drugs change the hormonal background and cause obesity.
Statistics say that 75% of women suffer from non-cancerous breast diseases. Breast cancer accounts for a quarter of all cases of cancer in women. Breast cancer also occurs in men!
Mastopathy in only 1.5% of cases degenerates into cancer. Therefore, one should not be afraid of breast examination and treatment. If mastopathy is detected, an additional examination of the ovaries, thyroid and pancreas is necessary. There is no vaccine against breast cancer, so a woman’s lifestyle plays a major role in its prevention.
15% of women are genetically predisposed to breast cancer. In most, it appears at the age of 55-65 years, when menstruation ceases. Who is at risk can do an MRI with contrast. This is expensive research, but reveals the slightest change. CT is also possible. The choice of methodology depends on the age and indications that the doctor determines.
The most informative method for examining the mammary glands is computed tomography
The duration of the procedure is up to 2 hours. But it can be prescribed by a mammologist in doubtful cases and to search for metastases in cancer. The main difficulty is to be motionless all this time. The examination is quite expensive. If a tumor is found, a biopsy is prescribed to confirm its type – a small piece of tissue is taken for examination under local anesthesia.
RTM diagnostics
Radiometry is a diagnosis based on the temperature difference in various tissues of the body. Tumors have a higher temperature than healthy breast tissue. Data is taken using a special radio thermometer. During the examination, the patient lies on his back. To carry out the measurement, the radiothermometer is installed on the points under investigation. Visualization is graphs and temperature charts. The technique is non-invasive, but so far rarely used. With its help, we can only assume that there is a tumor, but it will not be possible to detect it.
Do I need to remove benign breast tumors?
This is decided by a mammologist-oncologist after receiving the results of ultrasound, mammography, in some cases – MRI and CT. If you have advanced mastopathy, fibroadenoma is growing rapidly, it makes sense to remove it. But sometimes you can limit yourself to observation. In some clinics, fibroadenomas can be removed at the insistence of the patient, but we have already paid attention to the great harm to the breast of any surgical intervention, in this case unreasonable. Fear of tumors is normal, but not all of them are malignant, the size of many neoplasms can be reduced at least without resorting to surgery.
We recommend that you take an ultrasound of the mammary glands every year from the age of 20. It can be made pregnant. The chest changes under the influence of 30 different hormones. More than 100 causes of hormonal imbalance are known. There are no women in the metropolis without risk factors for gynecological diseases. Many of them are difficult to control on their own. Therefore, take tests for the main hormones at least once a year after 20-25 years. By the level of hormones, you can understand in what condition the breast is, and whether it needs to be examined further.
