Warning Signs of Breast Cancer
Many of the symptoms of breast cancer can also be symptoms of something else. Only your doctor can tell for sure. If you have any of these, make an appointment with your doctor.
- A lump in the breast or armpit
- Thickening of breast skin or tissue that lasts through your period
- A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast
- Clear or bloody fluid coming from the nipple
- A change in how the skin on your breast or nipple looks or feels. It may look dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed.
- Redness of your breast or nipple
- An area on your breast that clearly looks different from any other
- A hard, marble-like area under the skin
Your doctor will do tests to find out the cause. He or she can give you the "all clear" or help you start treatment if the tests show you havecancer. Most breast lumps are not cancer. But if your doctor believes it is, it’s best to start treatment right away.
Treating Recurrent Breast Cancer
Being at "high" risk for being diagnosed with breast cancer is different than being at high risk for a recurrence of breast cancer.
- Cancer in the lymph nodes under the arms
- A large tumor
- An aggressive type of cancer
- Negative hormone receptors
- Positive HER2 receptor
Breast cancer can recur or come back in three ways:
- The cancer can return at the original site. This is called a local recurrence.
- The cancer can recur nearby, such as in the chest. This is called a regional recurrence.
- The cancer can spread to a distant location in the body, such as lymph nodes, bone marrow, or lungs. This is called a distant recurrence, or a metastasis.
Your doctor will order more tests to see if the breast cancer has spread, beginning with a physical exam and often a biopsy. The doctor is checking to see if cancer is present and, if so, if it is a recurrence of the same type of cancer or a completely new cancer (which is called a second primary cancer.)
1 comment:
Very informative
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