综合肿瘤学杂志

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in females. It is also a leading cause of cancer deaths among females. Any abnormal growth in breast which has a potential to spread elsewhere too is breast cancer. Almost every woman feels some kind of changes in her breast during her life, some type of lumps and bumps but fortunately most of them are harmless, however every lump in breast warrants a careful clinical examination and further investigations if required. Most of the breast cancers present as a painless lump which is slowly increasing in size over a period of weeks and months. Since it is painless to start with therefore it is neglected for a long time and patients present late. Other features include retraction of nipple, nipple discharge, eczematous lesion on nipple and areola. Dimpling of skin or orange peel like appearance. In advance stage the lady may present with a large mass with ulceration, bleeding pain. They also present with a mass in armpit due to enlarged lymph nodes. If you notice any breast changes or a mammogram shows something suspicious, then physical examination is needed, checking both breast and the lymph nodes above your collar bone and above your arms. A mammogram is a low dose x-ray that can find changes that are too small to be felt during a physical examination. If a mammogram picks up breast changes you may have an ultrasound. This is a painless scan using sound waves to make a picture of your breast. If breast cancer is suspected, a doctor removes some of the breast tissue for examination by a pathologist under a microscope. Systemic treatments are intended to kill cancer cells that may have left the original tumor location and be elsewhere in the body. These treatments affect all cells in the body, not just cancer cells. So make sure you discuss possible side effects with your healthcare provider.