Six misunderstandings about breast cancer in postpartum women

Breast cancer is a major threat to women's health, but many people have misunderstandings about breast cancer and cannot view it correctly. So, what are the symptoms of breast cancer? What are the misunderstandings people have about breast cancer? Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women. According to statistics, the incidence rate accounts for 7-10% of all malignant tumors in the body. Its onset is often related to genetics, and the incidence rate is higher in women between 40 and 60 years old and before and after menopause. Only about 1-2% of breast cancer patients are men. A malignant tumor that usually arises in the glandular epithelial tissue of the breast.

Myth 1:

"Oh, I felt a lump in my breast, I must have breast cancer!"

In fact, many breast lumps are benign. A previous survey showed that 90% of biopsies performed on female patients under the age of 40 with breast lumps were benign.

Because of the effect of estrogen, women often experience breast pain or feel breast lumps before or during their menstrual cycle. As long as the lumps disappear after the menstrual cycle, it means that there is no problem.

Myth 2:

Long-term use of hormone drugs has no relationship with breast cancer

We should be highly vigilant about the possibility of inducing breast cancer. It is recommended that women before giving birth to their first child or those with a family history of breast cancer should not take oral contraceptives.

Myth 3:

How can men get breast cancer?

Anyone with mammary glands is likely to develop breast cancer. Breast cancer is caused by the appearance of malignant tumor tissue in breast cells. Men also have breast tissue, so they are also likely to develop breast cancer.

Men's breasts do not have developed lobules and alveoli, so their breasts are much smaller than women's. However, because men's breast tissue is relatively weak, once a breast tumor occurs, it can easily spread around. It does not take too long for the tumor cells to spread to the skin and muscle tissue of the breast. Therefore, male breast cancer patients are often in the late stage of the disease when they first visit the doctor.

Therefore, men should be highly vigilant about foreign bodies in their breasts in daily life. If a man finds local pain and tenderness in the breast, a painless lump with unclear boundaries, an inverted nipple, or secretions, he should immediately go to the hospital's breast specialist for consultation and examination.

Myth 4:

"I'm not in menopause yet, breast cancer has nothing to do with me!"

Many young women believe that breast cancer is a disease that only affects middle-aged and elderly women, so they don’t pay much attention to breast health. However, routine physical examinations and sampling surveys in my country have found that the age of onset of breast cancer in women is tending to be younger. Among young women aged 20 to 30, about 50% suffer from breast hyperplasia. Although breast hyperplasia is not breast cancer, if it is allowed to develop further, it is very likely to become cancerous.

Myth 5:

“No one in my family has ever had breast cancer, and I definitely won’t get it in the future!”

Recent studies have shown that even if there is no family history, it is still possible to develop breast cancer without timely prevention and treatment. Director Liu Wei said that family history is not the main cause of breast cancer. The root cause of breast cancer is the lack of healthy lifestyle and eating habits, and the lack of correct prevention awareness.

Myth 6:

When you self-examine your breasts, you don’t find any lumps in your breasts, so you think you definitely don’t have breast cancer.

Breast lumps are not the only symptom of breast cancer. The early symptoms of many patients are simply changes in the symmetry of the breasts, such as thickening of the skin, orange peel-like changes in the breast skin, breast secretions, water or blood discharge, etc.

However, some patients do not even have any typical symptoms and do not feel any general discomfort. When doctors examined these patients carefully, they only found enlarged lymph nodes in their armpits. This undoubtedly increases the chance of missed diagnosis of breast cancer.