Anglim Private Health is a private GP Surgery in Bury St Edmunds, we aim to make it easy and convenient to organise a face to face GP appointment with availability early morning, late in the evening and at weekends.
October is breast cancer awareness month. It is a time for all women to make sure they are aware of the ways to both prevent breast cancer and identify breast cancer early when it can be treated effectively.
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is cancer which starts in the breast. Cells change to cancerous cells then multiply quickly causing a lump. Like all cancers the cells can spread through the body, make us very unwell and ultimately die.
How common is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK. Accounting for 15% of all cancers and with 56000 cases each year in women and 400 in men. Overall 1 in 7 women will have breast cancer in their lifetime. Rates are on the increase with a 15% increase over 30 years and 3% over the last decade. The increase is slowing and it is projected that cases remain static or very slowly increasing in the future.
Breast cancer risk increases with increasing weight (particularly after menopause), increasing alcohol and smoking cigarettes.
It also increases with increasing age, family history and white/ caucasian ethnicity. Having had a previous breast cancer increases the risk of another primary breast cancer. And a previous melanoma, lung cancer, bowel cancer, womb cancer or CLL leukaemia all increase the risk of breast cancer.
With the opposite effect of many other illnesses, the most deprived people have a slightly lower risk of breast cancer and least deprived have a higher risk.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The most common symptom is a lump in the breast. It can also appear as a general change in the shape, size or feel of your breast. Skin overlying the breast can have changes, such as puckering, dimpling or redness. And cancer can cause changes with the nipple including fluid discharging from the nipple when not breastfeeding and changes in the appearance or position of the nipple.
Sometimes breast cancer can appear with a lump in your armpit, from a lymph node. This can also be a sign of other serious and non-serious illnesses.
If you have any one of those symptoms you should see your GP as soon as possible.
Breast pain without any of the symptoms above is rarely a sign of breast cancer, but if it is combined with any of the symptoms of breast cancer, you should still see your GP urgently.
Screening for Breast Cancer
There is an NHS screening programme for breast cancer.
You will be invited for your first breast screening appointment between the ages of 50 and 53. Thereafter you will be invited every 3 years. You will only be invited if you are registered with an NHS GP surgery. A specialist radiographer, always female, will help take x-ray images of your breasts (mammograms). And a specialist team will review the images for signs of breast cancer. If there is an abnormality in the breast screening images, it doesn’t automatically mean you have cancer, just that you need more tests and a closer look with a combination of an examination, ultrasound, repeat mammogram and a specialist review. From that review they may decide if you need a sample or biopsy. 1 in 4 people called back with an abnormal mammogram will have cancer, but the majority will not have cancer.
Some women with a very strong family history of breast cancer or specific abnormal breast cancer genes in themselves or family members may need screening earlier or more often. You should discuss that with your GP if you think you may fall in to a higher risk group.
Screening is not 100% effective, so if you have had a normal mammogram then find a lump or another sign of breast cancer you must still seek urgent assistance from your GP.
What happens after a breast cancer is diagnosed?
Being diagnosed with breast cancer is always going to be stressful and difficult. The survival from breast cancer however is very good, with an overall survival rate in the UK of 85% after 5 years and 75% after 10 years. The biggest factor is the stage of your cancer, with stage 1 cancer survival approaching 100% alive after 5 years. Stage 2 is 90% and stage 3 is 70%. With stage 4 cancer, the disease is not curable, but 25% remain alive after 5 years with treatments to control, push back and slow the disease.
The treatment to cure cancer normally involves an operation to remove the cancer. This might be removing a lump from the breast or an entire breast and the decision to recommend one or the other is mostly dependent on the size or stage of the cancer. The operation often removes some or all the lymph nodes in an armpit, partly to test them to see if any cancer has spread to a lymph node. Your breast consultant will discuss options for breast reconstruction. The surgery is sometimes supported by radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy or immunotherapy, which can improve survival.
Alternative ways to detect breast cancer
The biggest change in cancer detection, is screening for circulating tumour cells, Trucheck. This is a periodic blood test, which looks for evidence of cancer cells through a simple blood test, and if found can then identify the type of cancer cell and originating organ. It has high sensitivity and specificity, and can detect a range of 70 solid cancers including breast cancer. The cost of the test is the only barrier to it becoming used more widely. If you would like to know about this test please contact Anglim Private Healthdirectly.
Breast Cancer is a serious illness and has been increasing in the UK. But with early detection and modern treatments the vast majority of women will survive breast cancer. If you think you have signs of breast cancer it is essential you seek immediate support and onward referral from your GP.
For more information about breast cancer, try cancer research UK for their excellent and accurate resources.
Anglim Private Health is a private GP surgery in Bury St Edmunds. Please book an appointment online or call 01284 245665 if you would like to start your private GP journey.
If you run a local group, club or organisation and would like to host a talk about breast cancer or other health related topic, we would be happy to hear from you.