Not only is breast cancer a nasty word to hear it
is a painful condition and frightening, it gets even nastier sounding
if your doctor has diagnosed you with the disease. Sadly, although
scary, women still choose to avoid initiating a self breast examination
on them self. Why do women ignore cancer awareness alerts which point
out the vital concerns of catching cancer in its early stage when they
know breast cancer can be a fatal condition?
There can only be one reason why decisions of denial that they are
cancer free are made and that is because they are too scared that they
may actually detect a lump in the process. Is it not best to find a
lump the size of pea than that of one which has developed greater in
size? Not all breast lumps are cancerous, breast abnormalities should
be checked out sooner than later. "Later is a death sentence". Some
women in their seventies said they don't have much road ahead so why
the need for a self breast examination. Hey blue rinse gals it is very
important for your grand kids have you stick around longer and what of
your happy birthday 100th telegram off the Queen. Breast screening
regardless of age saves lives (70 years plus). Dutch research of over
860,000 women voiced breast screening decreased the number of deaths by
30% after the upper age limit was extended. Cancer risks increase with
age so they say; medical experts have been at odds over whether the
over-70s should be checked. UK plans involve raising the upper age
limit for routine screening from 70 to 73 by 2012. The Netherlands
extended its programme to cover women up to 75 in 1998.
Researchers are continuously and tirelessly looking for answers, e.g.
Is breast cancer a hereditary issue or an actual cancer having a
specific associated link? (Like Lung cancer in relation to smoking)
Overcome your panic thoughts of resistance in finding a lump and it may
well save your life.
If you are afraid of the unknown as to what is involved with breast
screening then there is nothing to worry over. A mammogram is an X-ray
of the breasts. The NHS in the United Kingdom breast screen women aged
between 50 and 70. A mammogram will be requested if you have breast
cancer symptoms, such as a lump. What you can expect when a mammogram
is performed is having a radiographer present. He/she will help you to
position one breast at a time on a small flat plate, with an X-ray
plate under it. Another flat plate will be placed over the breast. Once
the machine is activated, the breast is slightly compressed between the
two. Compression of the breast makes it easier for the doctor to see
things more clearly. A Mammogram in the UK consists of two snapshots:
one from above and one from the side. This is a precaution method to
ascertain that nothing is missed. Research opinion says taking a 2 view
mammogram can increase breast screening cancer detection rate by 25% or
more. Simple explained means every 100 cancers picked up with single
view mammograms doubles that to 125 with the double view.
Do mammograms cause pain, well uncomfortable is more the word to
depict, however this will depend on breast size and pain threshold of
the patient. A mammogram will only take a couple of minutes, so any
discomfort will not have to endured for long, unlike the pain caused by
breast cancer (physical and mental).
Once a mammogram test is complete the doctor will check for any signs
of cancer. Results of the mammogram are normally delivered a week or
two later, sometimes longer. Developed breast cancers will more times
show up clearly on mammograms. However it is not rare for one to go
unnoticed because the x-ray showed no sign. Infancy breast cancer may
not involve having a lump, patterns yes, which on a mammogram may
suggest breast cancer. The medical term calcification means tiny
regions of calcium within the breast tissue. Cancer can be detected
through the calcium which creates spots and patterns which suggest
disease presence. Breast changes are normal but only your doctor is in
the position to say these changes are of the non-cancerous pattern type.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/cancer-articles/breast-cancer-mammogram-
prevent-the-deadly-diagnosis-391842.html About the Author
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