Breast cancer early detection starts at home

Early detection of breast cancer , or mammary carcinoma (malignant tumor of the glandular tissue of the breast), is possible if a woman pays attention to changes in her breasts over time. The initial stage is represented by a soft or hard lump , fixed or mobile, painful or not, which does not disappear and which was not there before. Identifying any nodules is possible if you periodically practice a breast self-examination. An action to be carried out periodically considering that breast cancer is the fifth most common cause of death from cancer in the world, after lung, stomach, liver and colorectal cancer. How to do the self-examination :

1. It is necessary to do a visual survey , to observe one's breasts in the mirror while being naked
2. Alternately place a hand on the head and look at the breast in the mirror, in profile, so that any nodules that may be visible to the naked eye, with the skin stretched out, are highlighted.
3. Lie on your back with a pillow under your shoulders, hands behind your neck, proceed by palpating the breast with outstretched fingers, from the outer edge towards the nipple. Use your right hand for the left breast and vice versa.
4. To palpate the breast in the outermost parts it is necessary to extend the arm along the bust
5. In the same position, standing up, feel the armpit

Self-examination lasts a few minutes, it is advisable to repeat it often, with a certain frequency increasing the number of self-examination as one progresses with age. If a lump is found, contact a doctor immediately. Self-examination does not guarantee prevention in any way, nor can it be infallible, it would be advisable after the age of forty to have a mammogram a year or to have a palpation at the gynecologist. Breast cancer is a silent tumor that often gives visible symptoms only when it is in an advanced stage. Attention must also be paid to the nipples which tend to invert. It should be remembered that especially in young breasts, the mammary glands often become enlarged before and during the cycle and one should not panic if small lumps periodically come and go, cancerous lumps are fixed lumps that do not go away.