Natural Conditions

When examining yourself, you may find things that cause you concern. When doing SBE, it’s important to remember that each woman’s breast are different, and that changes can occur because aging, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause, or taking birth control pills or other hormones.

It is normal for breasts to feel a little lumpy or uneven. Also, it is common for a woman’s breast to be swollen and tender right before or during her menstrual period. It is therefore vital that you get to know your breast before you can detect changes.

These are common myth and presumption about mammography. Some are so widely spread and treated like a common sense.

Mammography is painful.

Expect some discomfort as the breast is compressed for even distribution tissues. However, the compression is only momentary and the discomfort for most patients is tolerable.

I don’t need a mammogram unless I feel a lump or have symptoms.

Mammography Remains The Gold Standard

Although the majority of breast disorders are benign (non-life-threatening), one of the disturbing aspects of breast cancer is that so little can be done to prevent it. Most risk factors can be predicted or controlled, especially genetically based premenopausal cancers.

The best chance of cure for breast cancer is to treat it as its earliest stage. The KEY to finding breast cancer is EARLY DETECTION and the key to early detection is SCREENING.

In relation to age, women are prone to get breast cancer when she gets older. This means the risk is higher for older women and more regular self check is needed by them. In numbers, these are the chances of getting breast cancer by ages:

Chances by Age Category
By age 30 — 1 out of 2525
By age 40 — 1 out of 217
By age 50 — 1 out of 50
By age 60 — 1 out of 24
By age 70 — 1 out of 14
By age 80 — 1 out of 10