A "disposable item" that causes breast cancer if used frequently by women

Now, with the rapid development of online food ordering, office workers’ lunch problems can be solved with just one phone call, which is quite popular among everyone. Little do people know that the boxes of fast food delivered to office buildings contain hidden dangers. Long-term use of disposable lunch boxes may cause breast cancer in women, which requires everyone to be vigilant.

Disposable lunch boxes contain estrogen, which may cause breast cancer

In recent years, the incidence of breast cancer has continued to rise. Nearly 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, especially in the eastern coastal areas and economically developed large cities, where the incidence of breast cancer has increased more significantly [Chinese Expert Consensus on Endocrine Therapy for Breast Cancer (2015 Edition)]. The high incidence of breast cancer is closely related to genes, estrogen levels in the body, bad living habits and psychological stress.

Disposable lunch boxes made of plastic or resin contain an estrogen-like substance called bisphenol A, which will seep out of the lunch box after being exposed to high temperatures and enter the body along with food. Long-term low-dose exposure to bisphenol A can cause breast duct hyperplasia, increase breast tissue's sensitivity to estrogen, and cause precancerous lesions of breast tissue.

Studies have found that the level of bisphenol A in breast cells of breast cancer patients is positively correlated with tumor size and tumor grade. In a survey of female employees in bisphenol A-related production and use factories who were diagnosed with breast cancer, it was found that the levels of bisphenol A in serum and urine and its detection rate in working women with breast cancer were significantly higher than those in the control group. Among them, length of service had the greatest impact on the levels of bisphenol A in serum and urine. The longer the women with breast cancer were exposed to bisphenol A, the higher the levels of bisphenol A in serum and urine.

In addition to disposable lunch boxes, daily necessities containing bisphenol A include baby bottles, the inner coating of metal canned food containers, and dental fillings.

Signs of Breast Cancer

1. Breast lumps

80% of breast cancer patients first present with a breast lump. Patients often discover breast lumps accidentally, which are usually single, hard, with irregular edges and a less smooth surface. Most breast cancers are painless lumps, and only a few are accompanied by varying degrees of dull pain or tingling.

2. Skin changes

Breast cancer can cause skin changes and present a variety of signs. The most common is that the tumor invades the Cooper ligament connecting the breast skin and the deep pectoral muscle fascia, causing it to shorten and lose elasticity, pulling the skin in the corresponding area and causing the "dimple sign", that is, a small depression appears in the breast skin, like a dimple. If cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels, "orange peel changes" will occur, that is, many small dot-like depressions will appear on the breast skin, just like orange peel. In the late stage of breast cancer, cancer cells infiltrate into the skin along lymphatic vessels, glandular ducts or fibrous tissue and grow, forming scattered hard nodules in the skin around the main cancer focus, the so-called "skin satellite nodules."

3. Nipple discharge

The discharge of blood, serous fluid, milk, or pus from the nipple during the non-pregnancy period, or the continued discharge of milk after breastfeeding has stopped for more than half a year, is called nipple discharge. There are many causes of nipple discharge, common diseases include intraductal papilloma, breast hyperplasia, mammary duct ectasia and breast cancer. Unilateral single-hole bloody discharge should be further examined, and should be taken more seriously if accompanied by a breast mass.

4. Abnormalities of nipples and areolas

Tumors located deep in or close to the nipple may cause nipple retraction. When the tumor is far away from the nipple and the large ducts in the breast are invaded and shortened, the nipple may also retract or rise. Eczematoid carcinoma of the nipple, also known as Paget's disease of the breast, is characterized by itching, erosion, ulceration, crusting, desquamation, and burning pain of the nipple skin, resulting in nipple retraction.

5. Swollen axillary lymph nodes

More than one-third of breast cancer patients admitted to large hospitals have axillary lymph node metastasis. In the early stage, the ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes may be swollen, and the swollen lymph nodes are hard, scattered, and movable. As the disease progresses, the lymph nodes gradually fuse and become adhered and fixed to the skin and surrounding tissues. In the late stage, metastatic lymph nodes can be felt above the clavicle and in the contralateral axilla.