Prevention

• Don’t smoke cigarettes. Avoid passive smoking, too. Cigarette smoking can cause lung cancer, besides heart disease, stomach ulcers, frequent colds and chronic bronchitis. Don’t chew tobacco.
• Avoid alcohol. A woman who has two standard drinks a day (two glasses of wine or two nips of spirit) increases her risk of breast cancer by more than 50 per cent.
• Vary your diet to include foods low in fat and calories to keep you trim. Include fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouts, whole grains, whole grain breads and cereals in your daily diet.
• An apple a day, along with the doctor, could also keep cancer away. Scientists have found that extracts of apple with the skin left on slowed growth of cancer cells of colon and liver. They believe that the phytochemicals could be the cancer-inhibiting factors in the fruit.
• Exercise at least four hours a week. It need not be strenuous activity. Brisk walking is recommended. Being overweight is a risk factor for breast and uterine cancers.
• Excessive intake of fried foods, fat, preserved meat and burnt food could cause cancer.
• Avoid using heated oil over and over again for cooking. Also avoid artificial sweeteners and colouring agents in food. Clean vegetables and fruits thoroughly before use to remove pesticides.
• Personal hygiene is important. Especially oral hygiene, cleanliness of skin and genital hygiene.
• Early marriages and multiple pregnancies can lead to cancer of the uterus. Late first pregnancy may lead to cancer of the uterus or cervix.
• Avoid multiple sex partners.
• Avoid indiscriminate use of drugs. Always check with your doctor before taking medicines.
• Avoid too much sunlight, particularly if you are fairskinned. Wear protective clothing or use effective sunscreens.
• Avoid exposure to X-rays. Go for it only if your doctors recommend one.
• Take estrogens only as long as necessary. Discuss with your doctor about the duration of hormone replacement therapy.

Warning Signs of Cancer in Women

• Unusual bleeding or discharge. Blood in the vaginal discharge or bleeding after intercourse.
• A lump in the breast or elsewhere.
• A sore that does not heal.
• Changes in bowel or bladder habits.
• Hoarseness or cough.
• Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing.
• Change in the size of a birthmark or mole.
• A weight loss, especially in someone who eats well.
• A low persistent fever could be an indication of leukaemia or Hodgkin’s disease.
• Persistent itching and skin rashes.
• Persistent pain and soft swelling of the bones and surrounding tissues.
• Any sore in the mouth that doesn’t heal after usual treatment, could point to oral cancer.

This Information is only for Public Awareness. For more details please consult the Doctor.

How to Detect

How often should a Women have Check-ups?

• From age 35 self-examine your breasts once every month.
• From 40, continue self-examinations and have your doctor examine your breasts once a year.
• From age 50, get a mammogram done every two years. In addition, continue self-examination and check-ups by the doctor.

In the shower

Raise one arm, with fingers flat, touch every part of each breast, gently feeling for a lump or thickening. Use your right hand to examine your left breast, your left hand for your right breast.

Before the mirror

With arms at your sides, then raised above your head, look carefully for changes in the size, shape, and contour of each breast. Look for puckering, dimpling or changes in skin texture. Gently squeeze both nipples and look for discharge.

Lying down

• Place a towel or pillow under your shoulder and you right hand behind your head. Examine your right breast with your left hand.
• Finger flat, press gently in small circles, starting at the outermost top edge of your breast and spiraling in towards the nipple. Examine every part of the breast. Repeat with left breast.
• With your arm resting on a firm surface, use the same circular motion to examine the underarm area, this is breast tissue, too.

Ask the Doctor