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.
