University of Johannesburg’s Resolution Circle initiative held a breast cancer talk in Milpark on 17 October.
Attendees wrapped trees in bright pink cloth to raise breast cancer awareness and had a breast cancer lesson and a remembrance ceremony for all affected by the disease.
Breast cancer is one of the leading cancers affecting women worldwide, South Africa is no exception.
According to Louise Turner, breast cancer survivor and project director at the Breast Health Foundation, most women who are diagnosed are over the age of 50. However, breast cancer is becoming far more common in younger women.
Turner added that all women are at risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer but some women are at a much higher risk than others.
“Women over the age of 40, women with a mother or sister diagnosed with breast cancer, women who started the periods at a young age, women who have gone through menopause at a late stage, women who had children after the age of 30 or not at all and women who drink more than two glasses of alcohol per day,” she said.
Early warning signs of breast cancer:
- A lump or swelling in your breast or armpit
- A change in the skin of breast
- A hot tender breast
- Pushed in or discharge that occurs spontaneously
- A change in the skin or itching around the nipple
- Change in the shape of the breast
- An unusual swelling in the armpit of the arm
- Specific area of pain or tenderness
How to do a breast cancer examination:
When lying down or in the shower
Feel for any change in your breast tissue such as thickening or hard lump.
- Put your right hand behind your head and use the pads of the three middle fingers of your left hand to examine your right breast (use soapy water in shower)
- Press using light, medium and firm pressure in a circular motion, then follow an up and down pattern
- Feel for changes in your breast, above and below your collarbone and in your armpit area
- Repeat these steps with your left breast
When in front of a mirror
Look for changes in the shape, size or appearance of your breasts such as dimpling, rash or puckering of the nipple skin, nipple discharge or any change from normal.
Inspect your breasts in four ways:
- Holding arms at sides
- Holding arms over head
- Pressing hands on hips to tighten chest muscles
- Bending forward with hands on hips
According to Turner, breast feeding is a protective factor and exercise reduces the chance of breast cancer by 37 per cent.
“Remember, exercise, low-fat diet and weight control may reduce your risk of getting breast cancer,” she concludes.
