Facts About Breast Cancer (continued)

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• Signs & Symptoms
  

• The most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. A mass that is painless, hard, and has irregular edges is more likely to be cancerous, but some rare cancers are tender, soft, and rounded.
  
• A generalized swelling of part of a breast (even if no distinct lump is felt).
  
• Breast skin irritation or dimpling.
  
• Nipple pain or retraction (turning inward), redness or scaliness of the nipple or breast skin.
  
• Discharge other than breast milk.
  
• Many of these symptoms can also be due to benign breast conditions, but medical examinations and tests may be the only way to determine their cause. Most breast lumps are not cancer.

Risk Factors

• All women are at risk for breast cancer; the biggest risk factors are being a woman and aging.
  
• Personal or family history of breast cancer.
  
• History of noncancerous breast disease (diagnosed as proliferative breast disease).
  
• Having early onset of menstrual periods or late menopause.
  
• Recent use of oral contraceptives or postmenopausal estrogens.
  
• Never having children or having first child after age 30.
  
• Chest radiation therapy as a child or young adult.
  
• Consuming two or more alcoholic drinks a day.
  
• Obesity, especially after menopause.
  
• Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

  
  Treatment

• Cancer treatment varies widely depending on the type and stage of cancer, as well as the age and medical history of the patient. Treatment may include surgery (i.e., lumpectomy or mastectomy), radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy.
  
• Most women diagnosed with breast cancer today can be treated in a way that allows them to keep their breasts (i.e., lumpectomy).
  

Prevention

• Breast cancer cannot be prevented.
  
• Physical activity, good nutrition, and certain drugs may lower a woman’s risk of getting the disease.
  
• It has not been proven that a low-fat diet will prevent breast cancer, but it is known that a low-fat diet decreases the risk of colon cancer, heart disease, and many other diseases.
  
• Women who have two or more alcoholic drinks a day have a greater risk of getting breast cancer than women who don’t drink.

Resources

California Department of Health Services, Cancer Detection Section
www.dhs.ca.gov/cancerdetection

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org

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