A sign is a signal of something that is not right in your body. Signs are many things that can be noticed by a doctor or other healthcare professional.
A symptom is an indication of disease, illness, injury or other thing that is not right in your body that is not easy to be seen by somebody else. Normally, symptoms are felt or noticed by you.
The most common signs and symptoms of breast cancer is lump in the breast, especially before you are going to have a period. This lump may find by you, your partner or your doctor during routine physical examination or mammograms.
Other common signs and symptoms of breast cancer are:
Breast swelling
Change in breast size or shape
Skin rash
Abnormal discharge from the nipple
Itching, crusting or scaling on the nipple
A lump or swelling in the armpit
Dimpling of the skin
Nipple turns inwards
Unexplained weight loss
Fever
Fatigue
Sore or pain in the breast that do not go away
Remember that often these symptoms are not caused by cancer. Some other health problems might cause them, too. Therefore, testing is necessary to make a diagnosis.
Diagnosing breast cancer
Screening and Testing
Early detection plays an important role in breast cancer treatment. Early detection can be done through a physical examination, mammography and breast self-examination (BSE).
Physical examination is performed by a trained medical professional. You should see your doctor for regular breast examinations. It is strongly recommended for women ages between 20 and 40 years to have physical exams done every three years. For women age over 40 years, the physical examination should be done every year.
Mammography is an x-ray, specially designed for a picture of the breast. Routine mammogram is known to reduce breast cancer mortality by approximately 25 percent. With a new and modern technique, you only receive a minimal amount of radiation during the x-ray process. The mammogram is able to detect cancer 2 centimeter or smaller. Two x-ray pictures are taken, one from the above and one from the side of the breasts. After that a radiologist will read the mammogram to see if there is any cancer suspicious.
Breast self-examination (BSE) should be done monthly by a woman herself. If you are not sure how to do this, ask you doctor or nurse to teach you the proper method. We also provide how to do graphics (Please click on BSE). Final Diagnosis
Final diagnosis can only be done by a physical examination of tissue removed from the breast. This diagnosis is known as a biopsy. Biopsy can be done by needle aspiration biopsy or surgical biopsy.
Needle biopsy is used to see the difference between solid tumors and liquid filled tumors (also known as cysts). A needle will be inserted into the breast and the tissue fluid will be drown from the lump in the breast. The removed fluid will then be sent out to the laboratory for analysis. If the lump is solid, the needle is also use to remove the cluster of cells. A removed tissue will then be sent to a laboratory for analysis.
Breast cysts are normally not associated with cancer. It will only be tested if they are bloody or if the woman is older than 55 years of age.
Sometime if the lumps are solid, surgical biopsy is needed. There are two type of surgical biopsy that can be performed. One is an incisional biopsy, which is done to remove only a fraction of the lump for examination. Another one is excisional biopsy, which is used to remove entire lump and a small amount of surrounding tissue. The removed tissue will then be sent for further analysis, which will be done by pathologists.
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