In the previous discussion about breast cancer, I pointed out that cancer of the breast, which usually manifests at the early stage as a lump that may look harmless are of two types. They are the benign tumor and the malignant tumor. In treating these tumors, the doctor must first understand the type of tumor he is about to remove in order to get the desired result. The approach here is to first remove a small portion of the abnormal tissue, and send it to a pathologist for a microscopic examination, in order to know the exact nature of the tumor. All these will take place while the patient is still lying down on the operating table. When the result is out, the doctor will now know the next line of action to take.

If it is a case of a benign tumor, which is a relatively harmless tumor, performing the remaining operation will be very easy. But if the result shows that it is a malignant tumor, it might require removing the entire breast, including some of the muscles on the wall of the chest, and also removing the lymph nodes in the arm pit.

A lump in the breast may develop very fast and without attracting any attention. It may even occur in between the time of the yearly routine check up. So in order to take care of this emerging dangerous situation, it is now being advocated that women should learn how to check themselves. This self examination which should be carried out monthly should complement the yearly check up, and if the woman discovers any questionable growth around her breast, whether painful or not, she should report to her doctor immediately.

To carry out this self examination, the woman will lie down on her back and use the flat area of her fingers to press every area of her breast against the rib and the muscle.

When a malignant tumor in the breast is detected early and treated within days and not months, the prospect of five year survival are said to be about 95 per cent. When a woman has passed the age of menopause, and she begins to notice some discharges from her nipples, (whether watery or bloody discharges), it is a matter that requires serious attention, and should be reported immediately to a doctor. This is a sign of the beginning of breast cancer.


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