BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In Slovakia, almost 2,000 women get sick from it every year. Every woman can help to detect the disease as soon as possible - when there is the best hope for its cure - by self-examination of the breasts. After the age of 20, every woman should examine her breasts regularly once a month. Breast self-examination consists of viewing and palpating.
When to consult a doctor?
If you regularly notice any welding symptoms during regular breast examinations or at any other time, consult your doctor immediately.
Remember that at the beginning of the self-examination, you only get to know your breasts, and many of the lumps you pick up are quite normal. However, if you are worried that you have found anything abnormal, always talk to your doctor.
Screening
Self-examination is only one of the options for preventive examinations. You can't control most breast cancer risk factors yourself. However, cure is more likely if the disease is detected as soon as possible.
The most reliable examination method is still mammography - X-ray examination of the breast, which allows to detect many cases of the disease at an early stage. Mammography should be repeated every three years. It must be supplemented once a month by self-examination.
Women are at increased risk
whose relatives - mother, grandmother, sister ... - had or have breast cancer that they did not give birth to
with the first pregnancy after the age of 30
who have already contracted breast cancer
who are overweight
who consume excessive amounts of alcohol
who smoke
with increased negative stress
In addition to preventive examinations, we can also do something for our body. So what to do? Eat sensibly, do not smoke and significantly reduce alcohol consumption. Let's not forget about physical activity.
How to do it?
Take off your waist, stand in front of the mirror your breast may be a little bigger than the other. Note that the color of the skin, nipples and areolas of both breasts is the same, that the skin is not wrinkled, bulged or tucked in any part of the breast, or that there are no eczema-like changes in the nipple or her areola, and that no nipple is involved. into the breast (Fig. No. 1).
Slowly raise your hands above your head. Do the breasts follow this movement? Are both nipples the same height? (Fig. No. 2).
Lie on the bed. Put a pillow under your back on the examined side. Place your hand on the examined side under your head. With your other hand, gently touch the entire breast with your fingertips in a circular motion. Touch the left breast with your right hand and the right with your left. You can spiral from the outer edges of the breast to the center. Or beaming from the nipple to the outer edges of the breast. Finally, feel the area between the breast and the armpit. Pay special attention to the lumps. They are usually filled with fluid or consist of ligament and glandular tissue. They are benign. (Fig. No. 3).
Seats or stands: Place one hand under your breast and lift it slightly. With the other hand, feel the entire breast and see if anything can be pushed out of the nipple. Pay the same attention to the armpit. Touch your armpits with your fingertips. During the exercise, you can feel one or more small, soft and mobile lymph nodes. More obese women usually can't pull the nodules because
they have them hidden in armpit fat. Note the changes in the lymph nodes, especially their size and stiffness. If you notice any change, do not underestimate it and see a doctor. (Fig. No. 4).
