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The symptoms of breast cancer in women and men

rak grudnoj zhelezy Breast cancer ranks first among all cancers in women. More than 90% of these tumours are detected by patients themselves and not doctors. From what we can conclude about the importance of breast self-examination.

Some people think that men don't have breast cancer, because they do not have this authority, but it is not. Men have mammary gland, it is called only the breast, as not producing milk. Structure of breast glands in men are similar to the structure of the breast girls until puberty. In women, the breast grows under the influence of female hormones, which does not occur in men. Although breast cancer in men occurs, but rarely.

The causes of breast cancer in women

Modern medicine distinguishes many factors that contribute to the development of oncological processes breast in women:

  • positive family history (relatives who suffered from breast cancer);
  • age over 40 years;
  • hormonal therapy (contraceptive purposes, or therapeutic substitution);
  • background and precancerous breast diseases (mastopathy, fibroadenoma, etc.);
  • hyperestrogenia (the elevated level of estrogen in the blood);
  • late pregnancy, which occurred for the first time, and childbirth or lack of them;
  • breast cancer or ovarian in history;
  • early onset of menstruation;
  • late menopause;
  • the effects of radioactive radiation;
  • endocrine and metabolic disorders (obesity, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus);
  • the carriage of the genes breast cancer (BRCA-1 and BRCA-2);
  • Smoking;
  • exposure to chemical carcinogens;
  • injuries of the breast;
  • eating large amounts of animal fats.

Risk factors breast cancer in men

Breast cancer in men can develop in the following conditions:

  • incidence peaks at age 50-70 years;
  • African Americans get sick more often than Europeans;
  • gynecomastia (enlarged breast in males);
  • obesity;
  • severe liver disease;
  • Klinefelter syndrome;
  • genetic predisposition, carrier of a mutant gene of the breast cancer;
  • treatment with estrogens;
  • the condition of hyperestrogenism;
  • Smoking;
  • the effect of radiation and chemical carcinogens;
  • trauma to the breast.

What is gynecomastia?

It is believed that nearly 70% of tumors of the breast in men is formed against the background of such condition, such as gynecomastia (a benign enlarged Breasts in men).

The most common cause of gynecomastia are endocrinopathies, in which the male body is disturbed the balance of sex hormones in favor of women:

  • obesity;
  • Klinefelter syndrome;
  • castration;
  • hypothyroidism;
  • the syndrome of testicular feminization;
  • reception of estrogens and other drugs;
  • athletes after the abrupt termination of lessons.

Also cause the growth of breast glands are hormone producing tumors of different localization (pituitary gland, adrenal glands, etc.).

There are 2 forms of gynecomastia:

  • true;
  • about (lipomastia) – enlarged Breasts only due to fatty tissue and not glandular (most often seen in men with obesity).

Each case of gynecomastia should be carefully examined, as this condition not only increases the chances of developing breast cancer, but is a sign of serious hormonal disorders and diseases in the male body.

Symptoms of breast cancer in women and men

Symptoms of cancer of the breast that can indicate a problem, men and women are very similar. Must immediately consult a doctor-mammologist, if you havethere is at least one of the following:

  • probing is painless, dense formations in the thickness of the breast;
  • change of usual shape and form of cancer;
  • puckering, vtjazhenija the skin of the breast, its cohesion with the underlying tissues;
  • discomfort or soreness in the thickness of the breast;
  • discharge from the nipple (clear secretion, blood, or fluid similar to milk);
  • retraction of the nipple inside his chest, his seal, or swelling;
  • probing enlarged lymph nodes under the arm, above and below the clavicle;
  • ulceration of the skin of the breast.

These are the basic symptoms of breast cancer, the detection of which should make you very alert and make contact for advice and be examined by mammologist. In mind a little awareness that breast cancer happens in men, they often ignore alarming symptoms, which are diagnosed at later disease stages, when treatment does not give positive results.

Diagnosis of tumors in the breast

As a rule, the education diagnose the patient who asked the doctor. The breast physician will conduct a thorough inspection and objective examination of the breast, will identify all risk factors for the development of the disease. Only after that a specialist will direct the patient to additional examinations that will confirm or refute concerns about cancer:

  • ultrasonic diagnostics;
  • mammography (x-ray examination of the breast);
  • biopsy for morphological and histological study of education;
  • analysis of the discharge from the nipple;
  • the serum tumor markers (CEA and CA-15-3);
  • genetic studies to determine the presence of genes of the breast cancer;
  • MRI and CT scans, scintigraphy to detect the presence of metastases and stage guidance for choice of treatment tactics;
  • the study of hormonal background of the organism.

Self-examination breast

samoobsledovanie grudnyh zhelezDespite the fact that breast are available for the survey, approximately half of all patients with guidance of the mammary glands arrive for treatment in the advanced stage of the disease (third and fourth). Often this is due to the fact that people do not have the skills of self-examination of the breast, and a long self homemade methods for detection of various formations in the breast. People are afraid to go to a specialist and learn the truth. This leads to late diagnosis of tumors and worse outcome of their therapy.

Guidance on methods of breast self-examination:

  • inspect in front of the mirror her Breasts and nipples;
  • raise your hands upwards and again examine the chest in front and on each side, whether there were any retractions of the skin, do not change the shape of the breast, not the nipple pulled whether up or down, sideways;
  • then lower your arms to the sides and again visually inspect the Breasts;
  • then palpate the entire mammary gland, do not miss any of the plot, the same procedure guide and in the supine position, while carefully palpate the nipple and push it with two fingers (thumb and forefinger);
  • when the feeling of the breast tissue note the pain, the appearance of their secretions of the nipple, whether in the strata of the gland seals;
  • the final stage of self-examination is the palpation of peripheral lymph nodes (supra - and infraclavicular, axillary).

Such examination should become a habit, to carry it is necessary not less than 1 time per month.

Principles of treatment of breast cancer

There are several methods of treatment for breast cancer:

  • surgical;
  • radiation therapy;
  • chemotherapy;
  • hormone therapy;
  • immunotherapy.

In most casestreatment of neoplasms of breast use not one method, and their combination.

operativnoe lechenieOperative treatment (surgery) is the main in the therapy of breast cancer. Surgery to remove breast is called a mastectomy. In some cases, remove not only breast tissue, and part of the small and large pectoral muscles and regional lymph nodes, adipose tissue. This extended operation allows to avoid the recurrence of the disease in the future.

Radiation therapy is used in treatment of cancer, before surgery or after. Allows to reduce the size of the tumor, making it operable.

Chemotherapy in many cases, helps reduce cancer of the prostate, also improves long-term results of mastectomy and recurrence of the tumor.

Hormone therapy is used in treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer. Sometimes therapy is having positive results.

Immunotherapy is a recent invention, technique is very promising and in practice, reveals positive results.

The prognosis of this disease, as breast cancer in the first place depends on the size and spread of tumor, therefore it is very important to suspect the disease and to begin an active battle against it.