Recently, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released the latest global cancer data for 2020. Breast cancer replaced lung cancer and became the number one cancer in the world.
9-year-old Taiwanese singer Zhu Lijing successfully fought against breast cancer. She shed tears at the new record conference and recounted her difficult journey of fighting cancer over the past year. 
Even if celebrities with more resources are like this, how can ordinary people prevent cancer?
self-examination? No!
Compared with other diseases, breast disease brings a stronger fear to women. To prevent breast cancer, the first thought of us ordinary people is: I should pay more attention and check myself!
However, the U.S. Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines show that breast self-examination is “not helpful” in reducing breast cancer mortality. Instead, it may cause women unnecessary anxiety, tension and excessive medical treatment.
In clinical practice, women who are under great pressure, have irregular work schedules, or are emotionally hit by accidents in their lives often seek treatment because of inexplicable pain in their breasts. However, various clinical observations and research papers can show that more than 90% of breast diseases are combined with cancer. It doesn't matter, it may be a benign lump, and some cancers occur silently without any pain.
Look in the mirror to see if there are any abnormalities in the breasts, such as local skin lesions, abnormal nipple secretion, pressing lumps, etc. These are not enough to determine breast disease and serve as a basis for diagnosis, but they can serve as motivation for regular screening.
screening? Yes! How to sift?
Currently, there are three main screening methods commonly used in clinical practice: B ultrasound, mammography, and breast MRI. These three examinations coexist because they have various advantages and disadvantages, and none of them can replace them.
- Ultrasound
Ultrasound examination has no radiation and is the most common physical examination item in the unit. It can detect breast cysts, nodules, benign and malignant masses. It is also more suitable for Asian women and is clinically suitable for young people under the age of 35. The most recommended test method for women.
- Mammography
Let us simply understand it as X-ray examination. Compared with B-ultrasound, it can detect smaller masses, and it is more advantageous for calcification point examination (one of the manifestations of early breast cancer). At the same time, due to the ratio of breast glands and fat, this treatment is more suitable for women whose breasts have undergone certain changes after menopause. Clinically, there are also cases where B-ultrasound examination is negative, but calcifications are found in mammography examination, confirming early cancer.
- Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination
is suitable for women of all ages. The sensitivity and accuracy are higher than the first two examinations. However, MRI examination is very expensive and is currently used clinically for people who are positive in the first two examinations.
See if you are a "key population"
Theoretically, people of any age should be screened regularly. Breast cancer tends to get younger and younger. For some key groups, more attention should be paid to regular screening. Key groups include:
- Genetic predisposition
Breast cancer has a clear genetic predisposition. If three generations of blood relatives in the family have relatives suffering from breast cancer, they must pay attention to screening.
In a more extreme case, American movie star Angelina Jolie had both breasts removed (breast-conserving treatment, but the breasts were still there) without any disease. Her mother died after fighting breast cancer for ten years. Although most breast cancers have nothing to do with genes, she carries BRCA1, a gene that greatly increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, so she underwent preventive treatment.
- Age
Age is not limited to breast cancer. The prevalence of many diseases increases with age. Data shows that 12.5% of breast cancers occur before the age of 45, and 67% of breast cancers occur after the age of 55. However, breast cancer patients The disease has a trend of getting younger and younger, and attention should be paid to it regardless of age group.
- Menstrual period
Current academically recognized studies believe that menarche occurs before the age of 13 and people who undergo menopause over the age of 50 are more likely to develop breast cancer.
- Other factors
Overweight, long-term smoking and drinking, long-term use of hormone therapy, and BRCA1 gene carriers.
Regular treatment
Some time ago, there was a man on the Internet who treated his wife who had breast cancer. He had never studied medicine for a day, but he "read a lot of medical books" because of his wife's illness, and used various methods he learned to "treat" the disease online. He also posted a photo of his wife's tumor that had ruptured and oozed pus. She happily said that the "toxins" had been eliminated and her condition had improved, completely ignoring the doctors' messages asking him for regular treatment. His wife passed away soon afterwards.
At present, due to the popularization of breast cancer screening, the proportion of early-stage breast cancer cases has increased. At the same time, the emergence of comprehensive breast cancer treatment has made breast cancer one of the most effective solid tumors.
Tumor stage , size, location, whether it has spread, age and physical condition, etc. all affect the prognosis. Treatment in a regular hospital is the only way to survive. Don't give any opportunity to quack doctors and nefarious methods to delay treatment in vain.
It is worth mentioning that doctors will use "breast conservation surgery" according to the patient's condition. While treating the disease, it can also take into account secondary sexual characteristics and aesthetics. As mentioned above, Taiwanese singer Zhu Lijing used targeted therapy. According to her and the media, after more than a year of treatment, she has "coexisting peacefully" with the disease and is currently in good condition.
The best way to diagnose and treat breast cancer is early diagnosis, early diagnosis, and early diagnosis.
Early prevention, early detection and early treatment are the tenets of almost all cancer prevention and treatment, and they are of even greater significance to breast cancer. The five-year survival rate of breast cancer in the United States can reach 90%, and the five-year survival rate of breast cancer in China can reach 83%. The five-year survival rate data for breast cancer stages 1-4 released in Hong Kong in 2020 is 99.3% for the first stage, 94.6% for the second stage, 76.2% for the third stage, and 29.8% for the fourth stage.
In addition to the general prevention of cancer, don’t smoke or drink, don’t be anxious, pay attention to physical exercise and maintain a normal weight, don’t forget to screen for breast cancer in your annual physical examination.
