For National Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, we want to remind men and women the importance of getting checked by your physician and also the importance of checking your own body. AdvantageCare Physicians’ OBGYN department shared with us that breast cancer is known as the most common cancer in the world amongst all women and ethnicities. Moreover, one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
While mammography is the primary tool used to screen for breast cancer, it is recommended you also are proactive about checking yourself. More often than not, breast cancer is found by a woman herself. This has happened in almost one half of all cases of breast cancer in women aged fifty years and older; and more than seventy percent of breast cancer cases in women who are younger than fifty years old, are found by the women themselves.
So, what do you do if you find a lump on your breast? Here is what our OBGYN department recommends and what is important to notice in your body:
- A lump or thickening in or near the breast or underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle.
- A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast.
- A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea.
- A marble-like area under the skin.
- A change in the feel of the skin on the breast or nipple or how it looks.
- Clear or bloody fluid coming out of the nipple.
- Red skin on the breast or nipple.
When in doubt, schedule an appointment with your doctor. To schedule an appointment with one of our OBGYN’s, visit here or call customer service at 646-680-4227.
