Breast Cancer Facts

The breast cancer signs and symptoms can be widely different for every woman. Some experience lumps, some experience skin changes that appear quite drastic and other women get no definite signs of breast cancer.

Some women experience similar signs and symptoms of breast cancer when it may just be a simple infection or maybe a cyst. All women of all ages – from teens upwards – should check their breasts for unusual lumps and bumps. If you think you find a lump or your breasts feel and look different, it is best to get an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible.

The prognosis of a diagnosis for breast cancer can sometimes take many weeks and can include many different types of testing to undergo. This can be extremely frustrating and quite an upsetting time in any woman’s life. The up side of it is that once the prognosis has been made, you can start looking at the bigger picture. You can sit down with your doctors and formulate some kind of plan for treatment which will be specifically tailored just for you.

There are a few myths surrounding breast cancer and the breast cancer facts. Let’s look at some of the myths that you may or may not have heard before.

Some people believe that breast cancer only becomes a risk when you are older. This in some ways is true. However, younger women do get breast cancer as well.

Some people also believe that if breast cancer doesn’t run in the family they won’t actually get breast cancer. This isn’t true at all. It is thought that nearly 80 percent of women who have had breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

It was reported years ago that antiperspirants can put women at risk of developing breast cancer. This is unfounded and has never been proved that a link between using antiperspirants and breast cancer even exists. It has also been reported that using birth control pills can contribute to a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. There are many studies done over time that show no founded link between the two. One of the studies combined all the information received from all of the other studies and found a very slight increase. This increase was over time, but was not significant enough actually prove the link.

There has also been a lot of press about the association of high fat foods and the risk of breast cancer. While eating high fat foods isn’t good for health, there is no definitive research that the link between eating fatty foods and breast cancer actually exists. This could be a misinterpretation of the link between obesity and breast cancer which does actually exist and has been proven many times. If you make a lifestyle choice and eat lots of high fat foods, you will eventually become overweight and possibly obese. This will then in turn, increase your risk of developing breast cancer at a later date.