Early symptoms and signs of breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, and its incidence rate is increasing year by year, posing a serious threat to women's health. Common symptoms include breast lumps, nipple discharge, skin changes, abnormal nipples and areola, and enlarged axillary lymph nodes.

1. Breast lumps: Painless, single, hard, and rough lumps in the breast are the most common symptom of breast cancer. For early-stage breast lumps, surgical removal is the main approach, including breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy. The specific surgical method should be determined based on the patient's condition and wishes.

2. Nipple discharge: When pus, serous fluid, or blood flows out of the nipple of a non-lactating woman, or when milk continues to flow out after stopping breastfeeding for more than half a year, it is called nipple discharge. If accompanied by a breast lump, one should be alert to the possibility of breast cancer. The treatment of nipple discharge requires a breast ductoscopy. If it is an intraductal papilloma or intraductal carcinoma, the diseased duct needs to be surgically removed.

3. Skin changes: Breast cancer can cause skin changes with various signs, the most common of which are the "dimple sign" and "orange peel-like changes". The dimple sign refers to a small depression in the breast skin, like a dimple; the orange peel-like changes refer to swelling of the breast skin, enlarged pores, and orange peel-like changes. The treatment of skin changes mainly relies on surgical excision and postoperative reconstruction to restore the breast shape.

4. Abnormality of the nipple and areola: Tumors located deep in or close to the nipple may cause nipple retraction. When the tumor is far from the nipple and the large ducts in the breast are invaded and shortened, it may also cause nipple retraction or elevation. Nipple eczematoid carcinoma, also known as Paget's disease of the breast, manifests as itching, erosion, ulceration, crusting, desquamation, and burning pain of the nipple skin, resulting in nipple retraction. The treatment of abnormalities of the nipple and areola usually includes surgical correction and nipple reconstruction.

5. Swollen axillary lymph nodes: For occult breast cancer, no lumps can be felt during breast examination, and the first symptom is often swollen axillary lymph nodes. More than 1/3 of breast cancer patients admitted to the hospital have axillary lymph node metastasis. In the early stage, the ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes may be swollen, and the swollen lymph nodes are hard, scattered, and movable. As the disease progresses, the lymph nodes gradually fuse and adhere to and fix with the skin and surrounding tissues. In the late stage, metastatic lymph nodes can be felt above the clavicle and in the contralateral axilla. For patients with swollen axillary lymph nodes, lymph node dissection is required to completely remove the metastatic lymph nodes.

For the pain caused by breast cancer, various methods such as medication, physical therapy and psychotherapy can be used to relieve patients' suffering.