Detection and diagnosis of Breast Cancer

BREAST CANCER the most common cancer in women and the most easily detectable one but sometimes breast cancer is detected or diagnosed after the body starts showing symptoms. If it is detected earlier than the survival chances are more than 80%. But now the  question is How the breast cancer is diagnosed before the body starts showing signs and symptoms??

Here are some of the methods to detect or diagnose a breast cancer :-

1. Physical examination :- In physical examination the whole breast part and nearby parts are carefully examined by the doctor or the person himself so as to detect any sort of lump or skin distortion in or nearby breast. Here the size of and shape of the nipples is also examined and if there is any sort of lump or skin changes are noticed then the patient is advised to go for further tests.

2. Diagnostic mammograms or mammography :- Mammography is a process of  examining the breasts by low beam X-Rays. Mammograms are being used for diagnosing breast cancer in those cases in which the body does not show any signs and symptoms of breast cancer. In diagnostic mammogram two views of both the breast each are taken over a period of time and compared if there is any change in the results.

NOTE :- In U.S. it is advised that the women over the age of 40 must have done their diagnostic mammogram once in a year and  women over the age of  55 must have done diagnostic mammogram twice a year.

3. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) :- MRI is being advised by the doctors along with mammogram to detect the breast cancer if any who have high risk of cancer. Different images are formed on the basis of  the magnetic resonance and the cancer or lump or any other abnormality is detected and further recommended for biopsy.

4. Breast ultrasound :- In ultrasound sound waves are allowed to pass through the targeted part of body and then images are collected on screen and even minor abnormality is detected. In case of breast diagnosis it is known as breast ultrasound. It is most simple diagnosis test. It is also known as sonography.

5. Ductogram :- This test is usually used to determine the cause of nipple discharge. In this test a thin tube is placed inside the duct through the opening of nipple and a fluid is discharge into duct of contrast in color and then X-Rays are projected to locate a lump or swollen tissues in duct.

6. Nipple discharge test :- In nipple discharge test the fluid discharged from nipple is sampled and viewed under microscope to check the cancerous cells in the fluid. If the fluid is milky or light green then there is nothing to worry but if the fluid is reddish or brownish in color then it may indicate the cancer.

7. Biopsy :- This is the most important and accurate test of all the cancer determining tests. in this test a tissue of the affected area is taken out through needle or by surgery and then examined under the microscope over a period of time and behavior of cells is noted and further instructions are given to the patients or the people who are suspected to have cancer. Here in figure we can see that a needle is used to take the sample tissue and fluid from a lump of breast to study.

REFERENCES :-
National Breast Cancer organisation
Breast Cancer India
BreastCancer.Org