Breast Cancer Awareness: Get Test Before The Cancer Gets Worse

With the breast cancer awareness month approaching this October, now may be the perfect time to highlight the importance of early detection and treatment of the disease. The early symptoms of breast cancer are not exactly easy to spot, and many women tend to ignore the signs. Some may not even exhibit noticeable symptoms, so it’s better to undergo mammography exam if a woman suspects that something is not right.

But in some cases, the signs of breast cancer are easy to detect. The most common symptom is a lump. However, it should be noted that not all lumps are cancerous. Swelling of the breast and skin irritation is a sign as well. Other symptoms include pain in the breast or nipple and the thickening of the skin around that area. Nipple discharge is possible as well.

Women should go to the doctor immediately if they noticed those signs because early detection is vital to increase the chances of removing it before it becomes an advanced breast cancer.

As the Advanced Breast Cancer community explains: “Advanced breast cancer includes the most serious of the five possible stages, Stages 3 and 4. Stage 3 is locally advanced breast cancer, which means cancer has spread to lymph nodes and other tissue in the breast, but not to further sites in the body. Stage 4 is metastatic breast cancer. At this stage, cancer has spread to other sites of the body, such as the liver, lungs, bones, brain, and/or others.”

Breast cancer becomes life-threatening once it advances into stage 4 and spreads to other parts of the body. Once a woman enters stage 4, the survival rate drops drastically so don’t wait for that to happen. If you noticed something unusual with your breast, it might be time to head to the doctors to get it checked.