How to check breast health

In fact, breast health examination is not as complicated as everyone thinks. The core is the combination of "daily attention + regular clinical screening". Just adjust the examination items and frequency according to age and the presence of high-risk factors. There is no need to be overly anxious and do a bunch of unnecessary high-end examinations, and don't delay seeing a doctor until you feel obvious pain.

Last week, I accompanied my 32-year-old cousin for an annual breast examination. When she took a shower last spring, she felt a small hard lump the size of a soybean in her left breast. She was so scared that she checked the information all night and thought she had breast cancer. When she went for a color ultrasound the next day, she found out that it was an ordinary hyperplasia nodule. After a year of follow-up, there was no change. After this review, she finally felt relieved. Speaking of breast self-examination, there has actually been a lot of controversy in the industry before. Some scholars believe that it is difficult for ordinary people without medical foundation to accurately judge the nature of lumps. Instead, it is easy to be overly anxious because of normal glands or hyperplastic nodules, and even over-examination. ； However, there are also clinical data showing that 80% of benign breast lumps and even many early-stage breast cancers are the first to be discovered by women themselves. Therefore, the current consensus is that there is no need to force yourself to follow complicated tutorials to "check in" for self-examination. You only need to be more careful when changing clothes and taking a shower.

For example, after taking a shower and applying shower gel, when your skin feels slippery, raise your hand and use your fingertips to gently rub along the breast in a circle without pressing hard. If you feel a hard lump that is obviously different from the surrounding tissue, pay more attention to it.； You can also scan for unexplained nipple discharge when taking off your underwear, the breast skin suddenly becomes wrinkled like orange peel, or the originally protruding nipple suddenly sinks in. These visible changes are much more reliable than blind inspection. By the way, I would also like to mention that most of the swelling and pain before menstruation is normal breast hyperplasia. On the contrary, it is the kind of hard lump that is not painful or itchy and cannot be pushed that requires you to go to the hospital as soon as possible.

Of course, observation by yourself can only reveal relatively obvious changes. Many early-stage small lesions cannot be touched or seen at all. Regular clinical screening is the gold standard. For women aged 20 to 39 years old who have no family history of breast cancer and no obvious abnormalities, it is enough to have a breast ultrasound or a physical examination by a clinician once every 1 to 3 years. They do not need to do a mammography. The breast glands of young women are denser and the mammography target does not have enough penetration, so it is difficult to see small deep lesions. Color ultrasound is more suitable. ； After the age of 40, when the glands gradually shrink, you can combine mammography and color ultrasound, just once every 1-2 years. If you have a family genetic history and have previously been diagnosed with high-risk factors such as atypical breast hyperplasia, you can also follow the doctor's advice and do breast magnetic resonance, which is more sensitive.

I met a 47-year-old aunt while waiting for a diagnosis at the breast department. She had never had a breast screening. Half a year ago, she felt a hard lump in her right breast. She thought it was an ordinary hyperplasia and did not take it seriously. She waited until the pain was unbearable before coming for a check. She was already in the middle stage of breast cancer. If she could have been screened a year or two earlier, she would not have suffered so much. To be honest, there is really no need to engage in "consumption upgrades" for breast examinations. The ones that suit you are the most useful. Don't be fooled into doing a bunch of unnecessary items by messy marketing. If there is any abnormality, go directly to the breast department of a regular hospital. It is better than anything else.