What are the early signs of breast cancer

The breast is located on the surface of the body, so lesions are easy to find and self-examination is also convenient. Self-examination is best done within one week after menstruation, because the breasts will swell due to the influence of ovarian endocrine secretion before and during menstruation, and breast tissue is easily confused with lumps. At the same time, it will be painful when touched, which will affect the examination.

Painless lumps in the breast are often early signs of breast cancer, especially those that are hard and have irregular borders. In the early stages, the lumps are easy to push; when the tumor invades the skin or breast tissue, movement will be restricted. At this time, if you gently lift the breast, you can see that the skin is pulled and sunken, which is called the "dimple sign"; when the disease progresses further, the nipple may be inverted, the breast skin becomes coarse and thick, and the pores become enlarged, which looks like "orange peel", so it is called the "orange peel sign". In addition, bloody secretions or mucus overflow from the nipple are also one of the signs of breast malignancy, and you must seek medical attention in time.

If you find a suspicious lump during self-examination, you should go to the hospital for further examination. First, ask an experienced doctor to check to distinguish whether it is a lump or breast tissue (such as lobule) hyperplasia. If necessary, auxiliary examinations such as molybdenum target X-ray, high-frequency B-ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging can help to distinguish. An experienced surgeon or oncologist, combined with molybdenum target X-ray or high-frequency B-ultrasound, should be able to distinguish the benign and malignant breast lumps 80% of the time, but to be 100% confirmed, you must rely on pathological examination. Here are two ways to solve this problem.

1) Fine needle aspiration of a breast lump can confirm breast cancer if cancer cells are found; if no cancer cells are found, it is probably not malignant.

2) Hospitalization for surgery. Frozen sections will be performed on the operating table first. If the cancer is malignant, surgery will be performed according to the requirements for breast cancer. If the cancer is benign, local resection of the tumor will be sufficient.

Once it is confirmed that there is a lump in the breast, the best way is to perform surgery in time, and perform frozen sections during the operation to understand whether the lump is benign or malignant. Even if it is benign, removal is necessary. First, it clarifies the diagnosis and relieves mental concerns; second, it prevents benign tumors from becoming malignant in the future. If the frozen section report is malignant, the doctor will perform radical surgery according to the requirements of breast cancer.