Breast Screening
What is the Purpose of Breast Screening?
The aim of breast screening is to detect breast cancer at an early stage in women who appear well and do not have any symptoms of the disease. The earlier breast cancer is detected, the more likely it is to be treatable.
The screening methods currently used include:
• Self-examination of the breasts.
• Breast examination by a doctor.
• Mammography (breast X-ray).
Finding Breast Lumps
Do not panic if you discover a breast lump, particularly if you are young (less than 40 years old) and you do not have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer. A breast lump is more likely to be benign (non-cancerous) than malignant (cancer). Only 10% of breast lumps seen by doctors in breast clinics are cancers. However, if you find a breast lump do not delay in consulting your doctor!
What Causes Breast Lumps?
Common causes of lumps in the breast are shown in Table 4.
Investigating Breast Lumps
Some of the methods used in the investigation of breast lumps include:
• Fine-needle Biopsy
• Ultrasound Scan
• Mammogram
• Core Biopsy
Emotional Reaction to a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
Naturally, the reaction to being told that you have breast cancer is very emotional. Feelings of fear, helplessness, guilt and depression are common. The initial reaction is often denial and rejection of the diagnosis: ‘… the test results must be wrong …’ ‘… it cannot be true that I have cancer …’.
This denial response is a defence mechanism. It allows a person to adjust to their diagnosis and to eventually acknowledge the fact that they have cancer. All breast cancer units have a specialist nurse with counselling skills to help patients and their families, by providing information and exploring their fears and anxieties.