In life and health have always stressed the importance of early detection when it comes to fighting breast cancer. As newly arrived in October, the month to raise awareness about this cancer, it is important to remember the self-examination. You more than anyone else know your breasts, and if you find any irregularities, you can immediately see a doctor to examine you, but as you know, although not notice changes, medical evaluation and regular mammography are also indispensable. You know that the earlier it is detected, there are more options for successful treatment and to come out victorious from this battle.

If anything I was diagnosed with cancer, there are options for treating breast cancer. These depend on the type of cancer, breast place where it is located and the stage where you are. But it is more likely that surgery is an option for the treatment of breast cancer. Each case is different and every woman differently, so, here I tell you roughly what they are about the different types of surgery, but only you and your doctor can decide what is best for you.

- Lumpectomy: Also known as “conservative surgery”, this procedure removes only the cancerous tumor and an area around for safety. It is also likely to remove some axillary node. The idea of ​​this surgery is to preserve (as its name implies) the general appearance of the breast. It is supplemented by radiotherapy. Not all women with breast cancer are eligible for this type of surgery, especially if you have more than one area of ​​cancer in the breast.

- Partial mastectomy: In this type of surgery removes the cancerous mass with some of the tissue around it, as well as part of the lining of the chest muscles and some lymph nodes. In these cases, radiotherapy is often recommended for six to eight weeks once complete recovery from surgery.

- Total mastectomy: As its name implies, this type of surgery removes the entire breast, but not the lymph nodes, if they have not been affected by cancer. This surgery is done in addition to preventing the recurrence of breast cancer.

- Modified radical mastectomy: This surgery removes the entire breast tissue along with the nipple and the lymph nodes under the arm. The muscles of the chest or thorax are not touched. In many cases, patients who undergo this surgery are breast reconstruction done using tissue from his abdomen or using a breast prosthesis (an artificial piece).

With technology today, the emotional impact of this type of surgery is reduced because it has tools to reconstruct the appearance of the breast. Do not forget to talk to your doctor about different options to give you the information you need in your particular case and, if in doubt, ask for a second opinion from another oncologist.

Do not be discouraged, but rather feel happy that this possibility exists and that you can give the fight to the disease.

You should also consult your doctor if you have these symptoms or these signs:
- Pain in one breast that is not related to the menstrual period
- You find a lump or bulge that change had not previously
- One of the breasts feel swollen, hot and looks reddened
- The nipples bloody fluid secreted
- I feel a lump in the armpit or near the collarbone

The main objective of breast self-exam is that you become familiar with the look and feel of your breasts. No matter the size, if one breast is slightly larger than the other, those are aesthetic details that, at least in relation to cancer, are not important. Yes it is essential that you learn to know very well your body. That will allow you to detect any changes, and report promptly to your doctor, however insignificant it may seem. Learn how to make self-examination and you defend your life. But remember that BSE is not a substitute for a professional examination or mammography.

Palpate first one breast and then another, and also review the nipples (to see if they have a runny or liquid) and the armpit area (to see if there is an increase in the size of lymph nodes). This is a good time to let you know how to perform self-examination yourself at home, to discuss your risk factors and what you can do to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer.

The self: how to do

Similar to clinical examination, but you realize it you in the comfort of your home. You should routinely do after 20 years is recommended once a month. Choose a time of the month in which the breasts are not swollen, a week or two after your period. If you have stopped menstruating, you can choose any day of the month, but it will be easier if you establish a routine, for example, the first week of each month, or every 3 months. So you do not forget. Long ago it was thought best done standing, but at present, part of the review should make lying to spread breast tissue evenly over the chest. There are three basic positions for a complete and thorough examination of the breasts (although remember that BSE does not replace the professional examination and mammography)

LYING:
- Sleep with a pillow or folded towel under your right shoulder.
- Bend the right arm and place it under the head
- With your left hand, feel your right breast using the pads of three fingers (index, middle and ring) for lumps or masses.
Go instead changing fingers like you’re giving a massage from top to bottom
- Press each breast area making small circular movements and exercising three types of pressure. The lightest and soft tissue analysis closer to the skin. Medium pressure, it will serve to check the middle part of the fabric. The more intense the level will reach deeper and closer to the ribs.
- Use two fingers to pinch the nipple gently and see if there is discharge.
- Repeat the process on the left side.

STANDING BEFORE A MIRROR
This part of the exam will allow you to detect changes in appearance of breasts. Take off your clothes from the waist up and put yourself standing before a mirror with your arms relaxed at your sides. Make sure that the place is well lit. If necessary, a lamp or turn on all lights in the bathroom or the bedroom. Look closely at the breast. What are you looking for? Changes in the appearance of the nipples, for example, or a dimple or skin changes. Look from different angles and positions of the arms. When the test is performed regularly, it is most noticeable when the differences: change in color of skin or nipple, or if there is any lump.

Stand with arms raised to the SIDE
- This position allows you to better check the underarm area.
- Lift one arm at shoulder height.
- With the opposite hand, examine your armpit. ‘re Trying to locate masses, lumps or bumps, just like you did with breasts.
- Repeat on the opposite side.

Surely among the members of your family, your friends or your coworkers know any woman who has breast cancer, which is a survivor of this type of cancer or has died because of it. All women, regardless of their age and ethnicity, are at risk of developing it, some more than others, but nobody, not yourself, is 100% safe. Consider these figures: according to the American Cancer Society, this year is estimated to be at least 230,480 new cases of breast cancer and among those, an estimated 39,520 women die each.

The good news is that over the past 20 years, deaths from breast cancer have been greatly reduced, experts say, by advances in the detection and prevention of cancer and the treatments available to combat it.
Want to learn to defend against this type of cancer? Then you should become familiar with breast self-exams and mammography. These are the recommendations of the American Cancer Society:

- An annual mammogram starting at age 40 years, and recommends that further year while you keep in good health
- A clinical breast exam (CBE for its acronym in English) as part of their annual physical examination by a professional every 3 years between 20 and 30 years and every 3 years from 40 years of age
- A regular breast self-examination from age 20 (with the understanding that this test has its limitations) and report any changes to your doctor immediately

- Ultrasound of the breast to determine if the breast lump is solid or filled with fluid (the latter are known as cysts)
- Needle aspiration: In this test a needle to the lump to determine if it is filled with fluid or solid tissue. Take a sample of fluid or tissue and send it to the lab.
- Biopsy: In this procedure, make a small incision in the breast to remove a tissue sample and laboratory analysis (see under the microscope, etc.)..

Note that although screening mammography suggests an abnormal, it does not necessarily indicate that it is a breast cancer. The most successful is to make an appointment with the doctor to discuss the case and determine the next step.

There are many women who manage to overcome a tough and aggressive disease such as breast cancer. Others are not so lucky. Lest you become a victim, do not overlook the evidence that may save your life such as mammography.

In a screening mammogram usually takes four shots: one shot from the top and one on the side of each breast. The pressure plate is often uncomfortable and, for some women, even painful, but the discomfort only lasts a few seconds and tranquility to rule out cancer is well worth it.

The screening mammogram takes about 10 to 15 minutes and only you will be exposed to radiation for a few seconds. The amount of radiation is very small, is 0.1 to 0.2 rads per dose (less than a chest X-ray). Surely, you must wait in a separate room until the images are reviewed and technicians to ensure that they have gone well. If necessary, will be repeated until each shot be clear and precise.

- The best time for a mammogram is about a week after your menstrual cycle so that the breasts are not swollen. When you call the medical center for an appointment, please note this detail.
- If you’ve had mammograms in other centers, question whether you should bring copies or permit copies to be transferred from one facility to another so they can compare them. - The day of the test, do not use deodorant, and you apply lotion or powder on the skin of the breast or underarm, as they leave a film that can interfere with the results.
- Communicate to the center or doctor if there is a possibility you are pregnant.
- Communicate the technologist if you have breast implants. You may have to use a different procedure or more x-rays

- An annual mammogram starting at age 40 years, and recommends that further year while you keep in good health
- A clinical breast exam (CBE for its acronym in English) as part of their annual physical examination by a professional every 3 years between 20 and 30 years and every 3 years from 40 years of age
- A regular breast self-examination from 20 to report any changes to your doctor immediately

It also recommends that women with a family history of breast cancer, genetic predisposition and other risk factors to be scanned with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in addition to mammograms (the number of women in this category is small, less than 2% of the female population in the United States). It is always recommended that you consult your doctor (a) to determine what tests you need and if you should get one at an earlier age.

However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) does not recommend mammograms for women in the 40 states and every two years for women between the ages of 50 and 74. From that age, advised to stop completely. Therefore, it is best to talk with your doctor for your particular case.

You are reaching 40 and you enjoy excellent health. Congratulations! As you may have strong reasons to love life, want to preserve the health to enjoy many more years. A healthy lifestyle and early detection of dangerous diseases, will help you achieve your goal. One test you should ask yourself from this age is an annual mammogram to detect breast cancer.

As recommended by the American Cancer Society, as early detection (when the cancer is still not felt by manual examination, or no symptoms), increases the chances of survival. In this month of October, dedicated to raising awareness about breast cancer, decides to get a mammogram, for your own health and on behalf of one of the thousands of survivors of this disease that could overcome from having discovered it in time.

What is mammography?

This is a breast x-ray and is used to detect cancer at an early stage or diagnosis. There are several types:

The screening mammogram is performed to detect cancer before it causes symptoms. Usually you do two takes of each breast (one top and one side). This type of test can detect cancer up to two years before a lump can be detected manually, increasing the chances of treating it successfully.

A diagnostic mammogram requires more x-rays taken from different angles to get more detailed pictures of breast tissue and are sometimes complemented by an ultrasound. The doctor indicates the mammogram when she sees some signs that may indicate the presence of cancer. These may be:
- A swelling, inflammation (swelling) or hardening of the breast or armpit
- Change in breast size or shape
- Subsidence (such as pits) on the breast skin
- Sinking of the nipple, or nipple discharge (other than milk), especially if bloody
- Redness and flaking of the skin of the breast
- Pain in any part of the breast

Digital mammography is a new way to perform both screening mammography as a routine, but instead to preserve the images on film or tape (similar to a camera), digital mammography images stored on disk drive of a computer. While traditional mammography is effective, some studies indicate they may fail to detect 10 to 20% of cases of breast cancer. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005, we compared the traditional and digital mammography. The study involved 49.000 thousand women without symptoms of cancer that underwent the two types of mammography at baseline and then a year later. After this time breast cancer was detected in 335 of these women. The researchers found that digital mammograms were more effective in three groups: women under 50 years of age, women with denser breasts, and in women at an earlier stage of menopause or who had entered menopause within a year earlier.

It was found that digital mammograms were more beneficial in women over 50 years and with less dense breast tissue. Both types of mammograms had the same rate of false positives (the test detects something abnormal and repeat is not detected any problem). Although the study could not determine that digital mammography could save more lives, the researchers did noticed that cancers detected with digital mammography previously were not detected with traditional mammography were the most aggressive.

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Each year, more than 1.1 million new cases, these cases represent 10% of all new cancer cases.

In our country, about 16,000 cases are diagnosed annually, accounting for 24.6% of all female tumors in our country. Deaths from breast cancer, representing more than 410,000 annually, which means about 1.6% of all deaths among women worldwide.

It is an urgent public health problem in high-resource regions and is becoming an increasingly urgent problem in low-income regions, where incidence rates have increased up to 5%, but in these countries, so far Cancer is not a priority health problem, because infectious diseases are

In Spain accounts for 5.6% of cancer deaths in women and the leading cause of death in women between 40 and 55. Its incidence increases with the economic level but in spite of the increased incidence of mortality rate has declined in recent years, mainly due to screening programs and advances in systemic treatment.

The median survival is 93% Europe one year and 73% at five years.