Early breast cancer symptoms are related to changes in the breast, mainly the onset of a small painless mass. However, it is also important to know that many of the lumps that appear in the breast are benign and therefore do not represent a cancer situation.
If you think you have breast cancer, select your symptoms and see your risk:
- The best way to identify these changes is to find a mastologist and perform a breast self-exam regularly.
- As it helps women and men better understand the anatomy of their breasts over time.
- Allowing them to identify small changes as soon as they appear.
These symptoms may appear simultaneously or alone and may be symptoms of early or advanced breast cancer. In addition, the presence of any of these symptoms does not necessarily mean breast cancer, but the mastologist should be consulted, as it may be a benign nodule or inflammation of the breast tissue, which requires treatment. See what tests confirm breast cancer.
Also watch the video below and learn how to properly self-examine your breasts:
Anyone can develop breast cancer, whether male or female, with people with:
In addition, there are also genetic changes that can increase the tendency to develop this type of cancer, such as those that occur in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. However, there are tests that can be done to help identify change even before cancer occurs, which helps prevent cancer.
Find out how these types of genetic testing are done and how it can help prevent breast cancer.
Breast cancer symptoms in men are similar to breast cancer symptoms in women. Therefore, in case of a breast change, it is important to consult a mastologist to diagnose the problem and initiate appropriate treatment.
Learn more about breast cancer in men
There are several types of breast cancer, depending on its evolution, some of which are more aggressive than others. The main ones are:
In addition to these types of breast cancer, there are even rarer cancers, such as medullary carcinoma, mucinary carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, or the malignant phyloid tumor.
Symptoms of advanced malignant breast cancer include, in addition to worsening symptoms and breast injuries, other unrelated breast signs, such as nausea, bone pain, loss of appetite, severe headache and muscle weakness.
These symptoms are usually due to the fact that advanced cancer metastasizes malignant cells to other organs in the body, such as the lungs and brain, so they should be examined by the mastologist and clinical oncologist as soon as possible. Learn about other causes of breast discomfort or pain.
Breast cancer prevention is done by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, it is advisable to eat a healthy diet, with fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, avoid excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and eliminate the cigarette.
However, to effectively prevent this cancer, a regular mammogram is necessary. Ideally, mammography should be performed annually, from the age of 40, according to the Brazilian Society of Mastology and the American Society of Radiology. Brazil’s Ministry of Health, as well as several European medical mastology societies, recommend mammography from the age of 50, twice a year. Women with breast cancer risk factors, such as first-degree parents with breast or ovarian cancer under age 50, should be screened 10 years before the first family case.
In addition, it is also important to perform the monthly breast self-exam, 3 to 5 days after the end of the period. The importance of self-examination is always remembered in the government’s annual campaigns, known as October Rosa. Understand step by step how to properly self-examine your breasts.