Lesson 6 Breast cancer

  • Understand what breast cancer is
  • Understand what to do to prevent breast cancer
  • Recognise the signs of breast cancer

Breast cancer is a disease that can develop in one or both breasts. It is a growth of abnormal cells that can cause a tumor.
Without treatment the cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer.

  • Being a woman
  • Being older than 50 years
  • Having someone in your family who has had breast or ovarian cancer
  • Lower your risk by leading a healthy life: eat healthy, exercise regularly, limit drinking alcohol, don’t smoke, breastfeed your baby, if possible, avoid products that are seen as carcinogenic (e.g., chemicals in food, make-up, cleaning products, plastics)
  • Get screened for early detection of cancer with a breast exam or mammogram: talk to your doctor to know how, when and how frequent testing is required in your case

Breast exam: Look and feel your breast yourself every now and then, if you notice any changes or abnormalities contact your doctor. A doctor or gynecologist can also do a breast exam by looking and feeling your breast with their fingertips to check the skin and detect lumps.

Mammogram: A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast(s). In this way cancer can be detected early, even before you could feel any lump in your breast.

Watch this video to learn more about breast cancer: