Daily Times

Breast cancer kills more women each year than any other disease. It is deduced that 1 in every 9 women is at risk of developing the disease at some stage in her life with 90,000 new cases being reported every year.

In order to bring forth awareness over this matter an event was hosted under the brand’s initiative of Veet Academy, a platform created by Veet to help Pakistani women maximise their potential by grooming them on key personality traits that enable them to achieve their dreams.

Moving on to the early symptoms of breast cancer, it usually appears as an area of thickened tissue in the breast or a lump in the breast or an armpit. Other symptoms include pain in the armpits or breast that does not change with the monthly cycle, pitting or redness of the skin of the breast, similar to the surface of an orange, a rash around or on one of the nipples, discharge from a nipple, possibly containing blood, a sunken or inverted nipple, a change in the size or shape of the breast, peeling, flaking or scaling of the skin on the breast or nipple.

Most breast lumps are not cancerous. However, women should visit a doctor for an examination if they notice a lump on the breast just to be on the safe side.

Speaking of different types of breast cancer, there is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the milk duct and is the most common type and lobular carcinoma which starts in the lobules.

In addition, the stages of breast cancer varies with symptoms with the initial stage showing signs of a tumour that measures up to 2 centimetres across. The size of the tumour increases as it enters the next stage and spreads to nearby nodes. This is followed by the tumour spreading to several lymph nodes. In the fourth stage one can detect via mammogram the cancer has spread to distant organs, most often the bones, liver, brain or lungs.

It is of key importance to discuss, address and educate women about a life-threatening disease like breast cancer. Run a self-diagnosis with simple steps and in case of any symptoms or early signs of detection, consult with your doctor and get a mammogram done for clarification. It’s better to be safe than sorry.