BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for all women and the leading overall cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55. In the United States, 1 out of 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. This year, breast cancer will be newly diagnosed every three minutes, and a woman will die from breast cancer every 13 minutes. The American Cancer Society estimates that this year in the United States approximately 192,200 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and approximately 40,600 women will die from breast cancer.

There are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors in America today.

What is cancer?
Cancer is a group of diseases that occur when cells become abnormal and divide without control or order. Each organ in the body is made up of various kinds of cells. Cells normally divide in an orderly way to produce more cells only when they are needed. This process helps keep the body healthy. If cells divide when new cells are not needed, they form too much tissue. This extra tissue, called a tumor, can be benign or malignant. Eighty percent of all breast tumors are benign.

Benign tumors are not cancer.
They can usually be removed, and in most cases, they don't come back. Most important, the cells in benign tumors do not invade other tissues and do not spread to other parts of the body. Benign breast tumors are not a threat to life.

Malignant tumors are cancer.
The cancer cells grow and divide out of control, invading and damaging nearby tissues and organs. Cancer cells can also break away from the original tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. This is how breast cancer spreads and forms secondary tumors in other parts of the body. This spread of cancer is called metastasis.

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY GUIDELINES FOR THE EARLY DETECTION OF CANCER
These guidelines are for the early detection of cancer in people without symptoms. Some people have a higher risk for certain cancers and may need to have tests more often, start testing at a younger age, or have additional tests. Speak with your doctor to find out how these guidelines relate to you.

• Women age 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year.
• Women ages 20 to 39 should have a clinical breast exam every three years.
• Women aged 20 or older should perform a breast self-examination (BSE) every month. By doing the exam regularly, you get to know how your breasts normally feel and you can more readily detect any signs or symptoms.
  

How to Perform a Breast Self-Examination (BSE)

Breast self-examinations should be done every month. It's easy to do, and the more you do it, the better you get at it. When you know how your breast normally feels, you will be able to feel any changes.

The best time to examine your breasts is right after your period, when they are not tender or swollen. If you do not have regular periods or sometimes skip a month, do it on the same day of every month.

Visual Examination
During the first part of the BSE, the visual examination, you are looking for changes in each breast. So if your breasts have always been mushy, that's not a concern unless this is a new change. The changes you are looking for include:

• Shape

• Size

• Contour or symmetry (is there a difference in the level between your nipples? Do both breasts look symmetrical?)

• Skin discoloration or dimpling

• Bumps/lumps - NOTE: normal lumpiness, like in the week before and of your menstrual cycle, will appear as very small and separate lumps like the texture of an orange.

• Sores or scaly skin

• Discharge or puckering of the nipple

Stand in front of a mirror and look for the above changes in your breasts (from both a frontal and profile view) in 3 different positions:

1. With your arms up behind your head
2. With your arms down at your sides
3. Bending forward
    - With your hands on your hips and shoulders turned in
    - With your arms relaxed hanging in front of you

Tactile Examination

1. Lie down with a pillow under your right shoulder and place your right arm behind your head.

2. Use the finger pads of the three middle fingers on your left hand to feel for lumps in the right breast.

3. Press firmly enough to feel different breast tissues, using three different pressures. First, light pressure to just move the skin without jostling the tissue beneath, then medium pressure pressing midway into the tissue, and finally deep pressure to probe more deeply down to the ribs or to the point just short of discomfort.
A firm ridge in the lower curve of each breast is normal. If you're not sure how hard to press, talk with your doctor or nurse.

4. Completely feel all of the breast and chest area up under your armpit, and up to the collarbone and all the way over to your shoulder to cover breast tissue that extends toward the shoulder.

5. Move around the breast in a circular, up and down line, or wedge pattern. Be sure to do it the same way every time, check the entire breast area, and remember how your breast feels from month to month.

• Lines: start in the underarm area and move your fingers downward little by little until they are below the breast. Then move your fingers slightly toward the middle, and slowly move back up. Go up and down until you cover the whole area.
• Circles: Beginning at the outer edge of your breast, move your fingers slowly around the breast in a circle. Move around the breast in smaller and smaller circles, gradually working toward the nipple. Don't forget to check the underarm and upper chest areas, too.
• Wedges: Starting at the outer edge of the breast, move your fingers toward the nipple and back to the edge. Check your whole breast, covering one small wedge-shaped section at a time. Be sure to check the underarm area and the upper chest.

6. Repeat the exam on your left breast, using the finger pads of the right hand. (Move the pillow to under your left shoulder.)

7. Repeat the examination of both breasts while standing, with your one arm behind your head. The upright position makes it easier to check the upper and outer part of the breasts (toward your armpit). This is where about half of breast cancers are found. You may want to do the standing part of the BSE while you are in the shower. Some breast changes can be felt more easily when your skin is wet and soapy.

8. For added safety, you can check your breasts for any dimpling of the skin, changes in the nipple, redness, or swelling while standing in front of a mirror right after your BSE each month.

9. If you find any changes, see you doctor right away.

Don't forget to schedule your next breast exam!

Sign up with the National Alliance Breast Cancer Organizations E-Mail Remindersm, and ten months after your last clinical breast exam or mammogram, NABCO will send you an e-mail message, reminding you to schedule your next exam.

CONTACT NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES

American Cancer Society
San Diego County
2655 Camino Del Rio North, Suite 100
San Diego, CA
Phone: 619-299-4200
Fax: 619-296-0928
1-800-227-2345

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
8057 Raytheon Road
San Diego, 92111
858-573-2760
1-800-462-9273 (Helpline)

National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO)
1-888-80-NABCO or 1-888-806-2226

Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization
254 E. Grand Ave. #205
Escondido, CA 92025
Business: 760-839-1491
Fax: 760-839-1703
Bilingual Hotline (Spanish): 877-929-9283 (San Diego County Only)
24-hour Y-ME National Breast Cancer Hotlines:
1-800-221-2141 English
1-800-986-9505 Spanish

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