Breast Cancer Awareness Month: These Facts Could Keep You Safe
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. In 2011, around 49,900 women or 130 women every day were diagnosed with breast cancer. Worldwide, one in 10 women is diagnosed of the same.
Most women who get it (8 out of 10) are over 50, but younger women, and in rare cases, men, can also get breast cancer. In 2011, 350 men were diagnosed, according to Cancer Research UK.
Understanding Breast Cancer
The human breast made up of fat, connective tissue and thousands of tiny glands called lobules, which produce milk. When a woman has a baby, the milk is delivered to the nipple through tiny tubes called ducts, which allow her to breastfeed. New cells in the breasts are produced in an orderly way throughout a person’s lifetime. In cancer, this orderly process goes wrong and cells begin to grow and multiply uncontrollably.
Breast cancer can have a number of symptoms, but the first noticeable symptom is usually a lump or area of thickened breast tissue. While most breast lumps aren’t cancerous, it is always important to have them checked by a doctor. Other symptoms of breast cancer are: change in the size or shape of one or both breasts; discharge from either of nipples (which may be streaked with blood); a lump or swelling in either of your armpits; dimpling on the skin of the breasts; a rash on or around the nipple; and a change in the appearance of your nipple.
Despite the progress in the scientific research on breast cancer, scientists continue to carry out investigations that will save more lives and protect more people from this debilitating disease. Below are some of the most recent findings on breast cancer. It is important that you equip yourself with such information to better protect yourself from the big C. Share these to your friends and loved ones so they would know what to do as well.
A simple blood test can soon predict breast cancer risk.
Scientists from the University College London are currently developing a blood testing procedure that can determine one’s risk of developing the disease. Their study is focused on certain epigenetic signature – the way certain genes express themselves, or the way genes are turned “on” or “off. According to Prof. Martin Widschwendter, Head of University College London’s Department of Women’s Cancer, "The data is encouraging since it shows the potential of a blood based epigenetic test to identify breast cancer risk in women without known predisposing genetic mutations,” The new test was already being evaluated in human trials back when it was announced in June.
Certain birth control pills may raise one’s risk.
Women who had recently taken certain kinds of oral contraceptives, specifically high-oestrogen pills, had a 50 per cent higher risk of breast cancer than women who had never taken birth control pills or who stopped taking birth control pills, according to a study by Elisabeth F. Beaber, PhD, MPH of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre. In her study, which was published in the journal Cancer Research, she analysed data from 1,102 women with breast cancer and compared them to 21,952 control women and found that pills with high oestrogen increased breast cancer risk 2.7-fold, while pills with ethynodiol dictate increased risk 2.6-fold. Low-oestrogen pills did not increase cancer risk.
Bigger waist circumference linked to increased risk.
In another study, published in the British Medical Journal, researchers found that going up one skirt size every 10 years was linked to a 33 per cent greater risk of breast cancer, while going up two skirt sizes in 10 years was linked to a 77 per cent greater risk. Researchers already know that bigger the waist circumference is, the higher the risk for cancers like colon cancer and cancer of the uterus, as well as health risks like obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, this is the first time that a link was established between waist circumference and breast cancer risk. They speculate that because abdominal fat is more “metabolically active” than fat in other parts of the body, it could be increasing oestrogen levels, which can fuel the grown of breast cancer cells.
Vitamin D is essential for survival.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego discovered that women who had a greater chance of surviving breast cancer had an average vitamin D level of 30 nanograms per millilitre, while the women who had less chance of surviving had an average of 17 nanograms per millilitre. Their findings were published in the journal Anticancer Research.
Quality sleep is crucial for recovery.
Researchers at Stanford University found that “sleep efficiency” or the ratio of actual sleep compared to total time spent in the bed, predicted survival time for patients with advanced breast cancer. After taking into account other factors like age and treatments, they found that efficient sleepers survived an average of 68.9 months, while inefficient sleepers survived an average of 33.2 months after studying them for six years.
Lifestyle changes can prevent recurrence.
Scientists from Yale Cancer Centre found that breast cancer survivors who start regularly exercising and eating healthier can decrease their risk for breast cancer recurrence and death, as well as improve overall quality of life.
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