THE VALLEY BETWEEN THE TWO MOUNTAINS- BREAST CANCER

Three years ago I was in my hostel (my girlfriend, vee's room to be precise) at the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus.  It was a long dull hectic day. We just returned from class and everybody was hungry. I got cooking, I prepared spaghetti and as we were eating, we decided to discuss the topic of the day "The Anatomy of the Female Breast".
    As young medical students, we were more interested in the different shapes and sizes he (the lecturer) talked about.   So we started comparing the shapes and sizes of our Breast and soon we were all doing self breast examination. It was at this point one of us mentioned that she had had a lump on her breast for a while now and the father is against surgery so seeing the doctor is out of the question. And we were like wah, wah?! Timeout. I for one I snapped, because I just couldn't wrap my head around it
    Well, to cut the long story short, we convinced her after a "fight" to see the doctor which she did. She had the surgery done among others and she's been fine.
      Now, this kind of thing happens a lot. We see them virtually everyday. A situation whereby a patient or patient's relative refuse help because they've been misinformed or lack the right information.
      Breast cancer is so real that I have lost two relatives to it in a space of 3 years. Young vibrant ladies full of life and vitality silenced just like that.  It is the most common cancer in Nigeria. No single person can fight cancer alone so please, do not ignore the plea. Every single person should be involved because we all have mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.
       Spread the words mouth to mouth, person to person use what ever media you have to encourage self breast examination and regular medical check up.
         Let me use this media to say this. It is SAFER to visit the medical doctor first when ever you do not feel fine. I do not see any sense in camping in baba's house or a pastor's place for 3 months, then you start running to the hospital when they can't help you. Don't get me wrong, I pray, I believe in angels and miracles but it's disheartening to see people presenting to the doctors at "heaven's gate" and dying from conditions which would have been effectively managed if only they presented a bit earlier. A study carried out in UNTH by Ezeome ER revealed that 17.5% of subjects present to alternative medicine before seeing the doctor.
                             SELF BREAST EXAMINATION
Once a month
                     Adult women of all ages are encouraged to perform breast self-exams at least once a month.  Johns Hopkins Medical center states,

“Forty percent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who feel a lump, so establishing a regular breast self-exam is very important.”

While mammograms can help you to detect cancer before you can feel a lump, breast self-exams help you to be familiar with how your breasts look and feel so you can alert your healthcare professional if there are any changes
 In the shower

Using the pads of your fingers, move around your entire breast in a circular pattern moving from the outside to the center, checking the entire breast and armpit area. Check both breasts each month feeling for any lump, thickening, or hardened knot. Notice any changes and get lumps evaluated by your healthcare provider.

2) IN FRONT OF A MIRROR 

Visually inspect your breasts with your arms at your sides. Next, raise your arms high overhead.

Look for any changes in the contour, any swelling, or dimpling of the skin, or changes in the nipples. Next, rest your palms on your hips and press firmly to flex your chest muscles. Left and right breasts will not exactly match—few women's breasts do, so look for any dimpling, puckering, or changes, particularly on one side.

3) LYING DOWN

When lying down, the breast tissue spreads out evenly along the chest wall. Place a pillow under your right shoulder and your right arm behind your head. Using your left hand, move the pads of your fingers around your right breast gently in small circular motions covering the entire breast area and armpit.

Use light, medium, and firm pressure. Squeeze the nipple; check for discharge and lumps. Repeat these steps for your left breast.

                                           SYMPTOMS 
      Please quickly report to your doctor if you notice any of these.

• A pain in the armpits or breast that does not seem to be related to the woman's menstrual period
• Pitting or redness of the skin of the breast; like the skin of an orange
• A rash around (or on) one of the nipples
• A swelling (lump) in one of the armpits
• An area of thickened tissue in a breast
• One of the nipples has a discharge; sometimes it may contain wblood
• The nipple changes in appearance; it may become sunken or inverted
• The size or the shape of the breast changes
• The nipple-skin or breast-skin may have started to peel, scale or flake.

                                                 CAUSES
Experts are not sure what causes breast cancer. It is hard to say  why one person develops the disease while another does not. Thought, there are strong indication of genetic origin, environmental factors can not be over looked. Hence, there are risk factors which could increase or decrease a person's chance of developing breast cancer
                                  RISK FACTORS 
1 Sex: occurs more in female than male
2 Age: most of the life time risk is accumulated in advanced age
3 Family history: history of breast cancer or other cancers in the                            family.
4 Reproductive factors: increased age at first pregnancy, lack of lactation, use of combine oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy etc.
5. Radiation: undergoing X-rays and CT scans may raise a woman's risk of developing breast cancer slightly. Scientists at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center found that women who had been treated with radiation to the chest for a childhood cancer have a higher risk of developing breast cancer .
6 Diet and life style: alcohol consumption, reduced vegetables, increased fat intake and lack of exercise.
7 Certain occupations : like those which bring the body into close contact with carcinogens. Examples include bar/gambling, automotive plastics manufacturing, metal-working, food canning and agriculture. They reported their findings in the 
November 2012 issue of Environmental Health.
Management? See your doctor and thanks for dropping by.