Breast Cancer

If you are a young lady, in the prime of your career, a mother to very young children, living clean, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink alcohol, with no previous medical problems, no family history of medical problems, you really won't think it could hit you.

But breast cancer can hit anyone, and you don't need to have the risk profile to get it.

Patients usually first notice a palpable breast nodule or mass. Although most breast nodules are benign (>80%), it is still best to have yourself checked by a medical specialist.
There's a spectrum of breast diseases ranging from benign, to pre-maligant, to frank malignancy. There are a lot of diagnostic modalities available to aid in diagnosis. There's breast ultrasound, mammography, scintimammography, fine-needle aspiration biopsy and excision biopsy, with the latter most as the most accurate.

Benign and pre-malignant lesions are readily treatable, usually with excision of the mass alone and with close follow up monitoring. However, pre-maligant lesions are a bit more difficult to diagnose, as imaging and biopsy results may yield inconclusive or even conflicting results.



Frank malignant breast mass have to be treated more aggressively. Clues for the patient if the mass is high risk for malignancy are a hard (stony hard), fixed (non-movable) mass, presence of nipple retraction or skin dimpling, presence of nipple discharge which is sometimes bloody. Then again, excision biopsy is still needed to confirm.

With the advent of modern diagnostic machines, it is easier to catch the disease early on, and to apply corresponding management. Early diagnosis, early treatment leads to better prognosis.

So please, if you feel a lump in your breast, don't delay in having it examined. God moves in mysterious ways, and for those who have breast cancer, nothing is impossible with God. God can move mountains, can raise up the dead, and He is Almighty to heal even the deadliest of diseases.