Breast Cancer
Okay, what the hell is cancer? Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in a human body organ. The human body constantly generates new cells to heal injuries, grow and replace worn-out tissues.
Sometimes cells don't grow or divide in a usual way and they even escape death. This may form a lump - Tumour. A tumour can be benign or malignant.
Benign tumour: This is not cancer. The cells are confined to one region and do not spread to other parts of the body.
Malignant tumour: This is a cancer cell, it can spread to other parts of the body through blood or lymph fluid.
There's always a stigma associated with the word cancer, some women don't feel secure to talk about the things related to breast, genitals ...However, some women don't know that they have cancer and neglect the small lump/swelling in the breast. By the age of 90 years, nearly 20% of the women are affected by Breast Cancer
This is just one side of a coin.
Importance of self-examination-
Breast cancer is common in postmenopausal women(in whom menses have stopped). Every woman must check every part of both the breasts at least twice a week. If they find any abnormal lump/swelling they need to consult a doctor.
Generally the cases in the hospitals where many women with cancer fail to observe the lump initially or neglect the small lump, which may gradually increase in size, leading to rush to the hospitals. By that time cancer may advanced and in some cases, we may even see metastasis(spread) to vertebrae, lungs, bones etc.
The general treatment in India is 'Modified Radical Mastectomy - where the affected breast with the lump is removed along with some lymph nodes in axilla'.
To prevent all these occurring women shouldn't neglect any changes in the breast.
Self-examination of breasts plays an important role in early detection of cancer and the prevention of spread. Many women aren't aware of self-examination and some think that the lump eventually resolves on its own without consulting a doctor. One may observe the skin changes to look like a peel of orange known as "Peau d' orange". Self-examination is a quick, non-invasive and painless examination to detect any lumps in the breasts. It's just a matter of 5 mins, saving many women from cancer.
See the following images to get an idea about the self examination of breast
Check this video for a better understanding - How to do a self-breast examination?