Breast cancer staging criteria

Nowadays, women are very concerned about information related to breast cancer, because breast cancer has become a high-incidence disease. Although it is not listed as a major disease, it still causes considerable harm to women. After all, diseases related to cancer mean a threat to life, and patients and their families are very scared. In fact, breast cancer is also divided into stages. Women should always pay attention to it. Early treatment will reduce the probability of death and the difficulty of treatment.

Breast cancer staging standards:

Breast cancer is one of the cancers that is more likely to be detected early by yourself. Therefore, it is generally recommended that women over 30 years old should undergo breast palpation regularly. In particular, women should learn to touch their breasts themselves and palpate their breasts regularly within 1 week after the end of each menstruation to detect abnormalities. According to research, if you check yourself, you can try to detect the tumor before it is smaller than half of a 5-cent coin (1 cm). In this way, the 10-year survival rate after treatment can be over 90%, and the 20-year survival rate can be over 85%. If you receive regular palpation examinations from a specialist, you can detect it earlier. If discovered at this time, the cure rate can reach over 90%.

Stage I: The tumor is less than 2 centimeters in size, the axillary lymph nodes are still intact, and the cancer cells have not spread anywhere in the body.

Stage II: The tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters in size, or the axillary lymph nodes have been affected, or both, but it has not spread further.

Stage III: The tumor is larger than 5 cm and the axillary lymph nodes have been affected but have not spread further.

Stage IV: This includes tumors of any size. Lymph nodes are usually affected and cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body, known as distant metastasis.

Ways to prevent breast cancer:

1. Control fat and lose weight: Studies have found that cancer cells are initially in a "starting" state, and only when they are "stimulated" can they proliferate rapidly and become diseased. A high-fat diet is a "stimulant" that triggers breast cancer. Long-term and excessive fat intake can cause the body to produce large amounts of estrogen and prostaglandin-like substances. Excessive intake of these substances can stimulate the growth of cancer. Therefore, controlling fat intake, reducing obesity, and improving the body's immune mechanism and disease resistance can effectively prevent and reduce the occurrence of breast cancer.

2. Avoid drinking: Drinking is much more harmful to women than men. Women who drink have a higher risk of breast cancer than those who rarely drink. For those who drink 1 or more glasses of alcohol a day, the risk of breast cancer is more than 45% higher than those who rarely drink. This risk is most significant in premenopausal women. It is currently believed that alcohol can stimulate the secretion of prolactin in the anterior pituitary gland, and prolactin is related to the occurrence of breast cancer. Therefore, women, especially those before and after menopause, should abstain from alcohol or drink less.

3. Drink less coffee: Coffee, cocoa, and chocolate, these foods contain a lot of xanthine, which can promote benign breast hyperplasia, which is related to the occurrence of breast cancer. If women, especially premenopausal women, consume too much of this kind of food, the risk of breast cancer will greatly increase due to the large intake of xanthine. Therefore, women, especially those over middle age, should drink less coffee and eat less chocolate.

4. Eat more fruits and vegetables: Studies have found that coarse grains, vegetables, and fruits not only contain a large amount of plant fiber, vitamins, and trace elements that have anti-cancer effects, but also contain a variety of biologically active substances that can prevent and slow down the development of cancer at all stages. Among them, soybeans, corn, edible fungi, seaweed, garlic, tomatoes, citrus fruits, and berries have the most significant effects. Therefore, eating more of these foods in your daily diet is not only good for your health, but also helps prevent breast cancer.

5. Eating fish is good for your health: According to relevant reports, women in countries such as the United States, Switzerland, Canada and New Zealand, which eat less fish, have a higher incidence of breast cancer, while women in Japan, which consume more fish, have a lower incidence of breast cancer. Experts say that fish contains a kind of fatty acid that can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Eating more fish regularly and appropriately is very beneficial for preventing breast cancer.

Dietary standards for preventing breast cancer:

1. Eat at regular times and in regular amounts. Do not overeat or have picky eating habits. Intake of nutrients and calories should be planned.

2. Eat more vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins A and C. Eat foods that contain substances that inhibit cancer cells regularly, such as cabbage, shepherd's purse, mushrooms, etc.

3. Eat less refined rice and refined noodles, and eat more whole grains, corn, beans and other whole grains.

4. Low-fat diet. Eat lean meat, eggs and yogurt regularly. Eat less salted, smoked, grilled, burnt, charred, and spoiled food.

Symptoms of advanced breast cancer:

1. Breast pain

A very common symptom of late-stage breast cancer is breast pain, which can be dull pain, tenderness, or distension, or even shoulder pain or a pulling sensation, especially when sleeping on your side. If menopausal women experience breast pain accompanied by gland thickening, they should be particularly vigilant.

2. Skin changes

It manifests as varicose veins, dimples on the breasts, and orange peel-like skin changes. There are large areas of darkening, thickening, and nodules on the chest skin, or plaques and even ulcers, presenting as armor-like chest wall or cauliflower-like neoplasms.

3. Breast lumps

Regardless of the early or late stage of breast cancer, the probability of developing breast lumps is over 95%. They are usually single and round or oval in shape. It feels hard to the touch and has no clear boundaries.

4. Swollen axillary lymph nodes.

At this stage, it means that breast cancer is developing rapidly and may even metastasize to the upper limbs, chest, shoulders and back.

5. Nipple discharge

At this time, the discharge is mainly pathological, which means that the nipple secretes fluid when the patient is not breastfeeding. This reaction is very common in the late stages of breast cancer, and the probability of occurrence is only lower than lumps and pain.