Breast Health Guide

There is no need to blindly consume health products that claim to "breast enlargement/dispersing lumps", do not indulge in breast massages from non-medical institutions, and undergo regular specialist screenings every year. More than 90% of breast risks can be avoided in advance.

When I was rotating in breast surgery a few years ago, the most detour I saw was falling into the trap of health care products. What impressed me most was a 32-year-old girl who worked as a live broadcast operator. She often stayed up late to catch up on projects. She came across a blogger who said, "Wild kudzu root powder + papaya drink can not only replenish estrogen for breast enlargement, but also disperse nodules and prevent breast cancer." Following the trend, she bought the amount for half a year and ate it every day. As a result, a physical examination at her workplace revealed multiple type 3 nodules in both breasts. Her previous physical examinations were clean every year. It must be said objectively here that not all relevant supplements are IQ taxes. There are currently small sample clinical studies showing that soy isoflavone supplements with precise doses can indeed relieve the symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats in perimenopausal women, but only after a doctor's evaluation confirms that you need to supplement before taking them. Ordinary healthy women have stable estrogen levels. Taking supplements with these so-called "natural phytoestrogens" products will disrupt the endogenous hormone balance and repeatedly stimulate breast duct and acinar hyperplasia, which will increase the risk.

What’s more deceptive than indiscriminately taking health care products is the “breast care” program in beauty salons that are now open everywhere. The last time I went to the first floor of a shopping mall, I was dragged by a little girl to sell her. She said, "If you have any nodules, you can rub them open by just pressing them. It can dredge lymph nodes and eliminate toxins. It's much cheaper than going to the hospital." Last year, I met a 40-year-old sister. The original physical examination only showed type 2 benign hyperplasia. After listening to the advice of the beauty salon, she applied the massage twice a week. After three months of pressing, the pain was so painful that she could not lift her arm. When she went for an ultrasound, it was found that the nodules were surrounded by edema and there were blood flow signals. She was scared to death. Of course, not all breast massages are useless. In the rehabilitation departments of regular hospitals, there are indeed breast massage programs for patients with lactation blockage and postoperative lymphedema. However, the operators are all qualified rehabilitation practitioners and will avoid controlling the location of the lesions. It is completely different from the "maintenance" of beauty salons, which does not matter whether you have nodules or not, just rub them hard when you come up. In particular, we should be reminded that if there are nodules of unspecified nature, violent massage may even burst the capsule of the lesion, which will increase the risk of malignant cells spreading. There is really no need to take this risk.

In fact, after stepping on the two pitfalls mentioned above, many people regretted not doing screening early. Compared with messing around with various "preventive" methods, reliable screening can really nip the risk in the bud. People often ask me, "I am only in my 20s, do I need to get checked?" ”“Will radiation from mammography targets cause cancer? ”, there is actually no unified answer to these questions. You have to look at your situation: If there is a clear family history of breast cancer (for example, an immediate family member has a patient diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 45), it is recommended to start annual "ultrasound + mammography" combined screening at the age of 30. ； For ordinary women with no family history, breast ultrasound once a year is enough before the age of 35, and it is not too late to add mammography after the age of 35. As for the radiation issue that everyone is afraid of, the radiation dose of a mammography target is about 0.3mSv, which is almost equivalent to the natural radiation received by you taking 10 long-distance flights from Beijing to New York. It is completely within the safety threshold. There is no need to stop eating due to choking. I met a 28-year-old girl during a physical examination last year. It was just a routine physical examination at the work unit. Ultrasound showed a category 4a nodule. A puncture was performed promptly and it was benign. If it was minimally invasive, it would be fine. If it were delayed for another two or three years, it was hard to say whether there would be any changes.

There are usually a lot of people asking trivial questions in the clinic, so I’ll just say a few words by the way: For example, does my aunt’s swelling and pain in her front breast mean she has cancer? Don’t worry, 90% of breast pain is related to hormone fluctuations and hyperplasia. Instead, you should be wary of hard lumps that are neither painful nor itchy and have unclear boundaries when touched. Also, will wearing underwired bras cause cancer? There is currently no evidence-based medical evidence to prove that underwire bras are related to breast disease. As long as you wear them comfortably and don't feel uncomfortable, you don't have to worry about whether there are underwires or not. Instead, wearing a tight bra that is one size smaller for "shaping" will compress the breasts and affect blood circulation, causing pain for several days.

After all, breasts are actually ordinary human organs. There is no need to attach too much importance to "sexy" and "perfect", and there is no need to go to Baidu to see a doctor if you feel slightly uncomfortable and scare you half to death. Don't eat blindly, take random massages, and have regular physical examinations. They are more reliable than any sky-high-priced skin care products. If you really feel a lump that feels wrong, or if the pain persists for more than half a month, calling the breast department directly will be more effective than reading 100 popular science posts.