The First Signs of Breast Cancer
Lyn was a 35 year old of two children. After being married for 6 years, the couple decided to have children. The first boy came out when Lyn was 32. The second came out a year later which was a girl.
Everything was great until some pain was felt in the left breast while showering and getting ready for work. At work, Lyn thought that this was normal especially with the monthly period coming.
But when the pain didn’t go away, Lyn got frightened and decided to visit the doctor. After going through the interview and the lab test using a mammography, the results shocked the couple.
Lyn had breast cancer and this was already in stage 2. This means that the tumor measures more than 5 cm. in across and has likely spread to other tissues near the breast.
The initial reactions were of mixed with shock, anger and fear. Lyn even went to another doctor for a second opinion but it was true. The best thing to do now was to fight hard and use the treatments and medication available to win the war against this disease.
The doctor who was a good friend then referred Lyn to an oncologist. The professional laid down the options and after careful consideration by both parties, it was decided that surgery had to be done. This will also be followed by therapy to prevent this from ever coming back.
Less than 2 months after the operation was done, Lyn had to visit the clinic regularly for therapeutic sessions. Aside from pills that were part of chemotherapy, checkups were done to make sure all the cancer cells were dead.
Lyn gained some weight and experienced some hot flashes. The doctors explained that this was a normal side effect and that these were only short term. This was better than realizing one day that the cancer is back which could also affect other parts of the body which may result in complications.
There are a few facts that people need to know. Lyn is just a statistic since there are over 200,000 women all across the United States who has been diagnosed with this disease every year.
Since no cure has been discovered yet, researchers estimate that half of those who are fighting this disease will not make alive in the next 10 years.
This makes early detection very important. Research shows that 6 out of 7 patients who are diagnosed are cured during the early stages. The chances of recovery are slim if this is diagnosed in one of the later stages.
Catching breast cancer in the early stages is difficult because self examination done at home will not detect it. The person should then watch out for other signs. These include the following;
1. Itching in the arm pit or near the breast.
2. If the person notices any pink, red or any dark color that is similar to an orange near the breast.
3. A thickness in the areas of the skin around the breast.
4. If the breasts seem inverted and warm when this is touched.
5. If there are any lumps or swells in the breast.
6. If any discharging occurs in the nipple.
If these are not present, then having a mammography done annually is the best defense against breast cancer.
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