Caring your wound after Breast Surgery

After breast cancer surgery, you will have a bandage, also called a dressing, over the place where you had surgery. You may also have tubes in your breast to remove blood and lymph fluids that build up during the healing process. This means you will have to drain the tubes, measure the fluid, and learn to identify any problems you may need to tell your doctor or nurse about.

The drain stays in place for about 2 weeks or until only a small amount of fluid is draining from the wound. Your doctor or nurse will give you written instructions on how to care for your wound, change your bandage, and drain and check the fluid. You’ll also learn when to call your doctor or nurse about a problem. You should study the instructions and share them with your caregiver, if you have one.

Your doctor will suggest when to return to assess the wound and, if necessary, to remove stitches. At that time, you should receive specific instructions regarding postmastectomy exercises. Or you may have been told to start the exercises the day after your surgery. These exercises include flexing your fingers and touching your hand to your shoulder. Ask if there are any exercises you should avoid to prevent swelling.

Types Of surgeries for Breast Cancer

Several surgical procedures are used to treat breast cancer. The goal of each is to remove the cancer. Based on medical factors and your own feelings, you and your surgeon will decide which approach may be best for you.

 

Lumpectomy

The goal of lumpectomy is to remove the cancer while conserving the breast. To do this, the surgeon removes the breast tissue containing the cancer cells. Some surrounding normal tissue is also taken. This surgery does not often require a hospital stay. In most cases, it is followed by radiation therapy.

Simple Mastectomy

During a simple mastectomy, the surgeon removes all of the breast tissue, plus the nipple. This surgerymost often requires a hospital stay. Based on the results of surgery and follow-up tests, further treatment may also be needed.

Modified Radical Mastectomy

During modified radical mastectomy, the surgeon removes all breast tissue. A strip of skin containing the nipple is also taken. Some axillary lymph nodes are removed. This surgery most often requires a hospital stay. Based on the results of follow-up tests, further treatment may be needed.

 

Risks and Complications

As with any surgery, breast and lymph node surgery involves certain risks:

• Pain or numbness (under the arm)
• Bleeding or infection
• Fluid collection (seroma)
• Long-term swelling of the arm (lymphedema)
• Stiffness of the shoulder

Truth about Breast Cancer

Breast cancer happens when cells in the breast or a tumor, grow out of control and damages nearby tissue. In women, the most common and fatal type of cancer is breast cancer. 

Detection 
There are often no symptoms in the early stages. Women should be aware of the screening recommendations and follow them. There are varieties of symptoms that may appear as the tumor grows such as: 

- The breast changing in size or shape 
- Breast skin becomes pitted or ridged 
- Thickening or lump in the underarm or breast 
- Discharge from nipple or the nipple turns inward 
- Skin on the breast becomes red or scales 

If you have any of these symptoms, have yourself examined by a medical professional. This does not mean you have cancer but you defiantly want to have this checked. 

Before the age of twenty, is very rare to get it and not often diagnosed in women less than twenty-five years old. The chances of contacting climbs steadily after 25 and peaks around menopause age in women. It increases less after menopause but as they age, the risk to older women gradually increases. 

Risk Factors 
Nobody really knows what causes this cancer. Some of the elements that are thought to increase the risk are: 

Gender: There are more cases of women than men 
Weight: Overweight women are at higher risk 
Age: From 25 to menopause, the chances increases. 
Children: If a woman has not had a child, or had a child after 30 
Family History: Women that have a family member that have or had it are at risk. 

Male Breast Cancer 
Yes, it really does happen. It is certainly not as common as in women but approximately one to 1.5% happens to men. Older men most often diagnosed with it and are between sixty and seventy years old. If a man has had previous exposure to radiation, such as for cancer treatment, their risk increases. Approximately 20% of men with a mother, sister or other close female relatives with breast cancer are certainly at higher risk. Some of the symptoms in men includes swelling or a breast lump, retracted nipple or discharge and scaling or redness of the breast skin or nipple. 

Statistics 
The statistics are frightening. Each and ever year, over 182,000 women and 16,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer. Over 400 men and 43,300 women will die from this terrible disease. During their lifetime, one woman out of eight has or will get breast cancer. Most people have family or friends that have or had breast cancer. Always give them your support and encouragement.

Breast Lump Removal

This is a surgical operation to remove lump in the breast.

Tissue from a solid breast mass can be removed by needle biopsy. This procedure places a needle into the lump to take out a piece of tissue. The tissue is then checked for cancer cells.

If the entire lump is surgically removed, the procedure is called a lumpectomy. For a lumpectomy, general or local anesthesia with or without sedatives is used. Once the area is pain-free, an incision is made and the lump is removed, as is the surrounding rim of normal breast tissue. The lump is then sent to a laboratory for examination.

For a fluid-filled lump (cyst), a needle and syringe are used to drain fluid. If the fluid is clear or green and not bloody, and the cyst disappears completely when drained, nothing further needs to be done. If the fluid is bloody, it is sent to the laboratory for analysis. If there is still a lump after the cyst fluid is drained, or if the lump disappears but returns later, surgery is usually done to remove it.

Hormone Therapy, Treatment for Breast cancer

Deciding about the hormone therapy is one s personal choice. It completely depends upon the health care one is taking. There are many benefits as well as risks of Hormone Therapy. The benefits are descibed below:-

a) Hormone Therapy helps in prevention of Bone fractures. This means If more pressure is put on a bone than it can stand, it will split or break. A break of any size is called a fracture.

b) It also decreases hot flashes and sweating throughout the body.

c) There is less vaginal dryness. A very common cause of vaginal dryness is lack of the hormone, estrogen. Applying a vaginal estrogen-based cream can help relieve this dryness.

d) There would be less bladder problems if you are undergoing Hormone Therapy.

e) If you are suffering from the problem of mood swings then you will have less problem in it as under Hormone Therapy one has less mood swings.

Chemotherapy : for breast cancer

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, and cancer cells. Most commonly, the term is used to refer to cancer-killing drugs. This article focuses on cancer chemotherapy.

An alternative name to it is :Cytotoxic chemotherapy

Chemotherapy drugs can be given by mouth or injection. Because the medicines travel through the blood stream to the entire body, chemotherapy is considered a body-wide (systemic) treatment.

Chemotherapy may be used to:

• Cure the cancer
• Keep the cancer from spreading
• Ease symptoms (when the cancer cannot be cured)

Chemotherapy medicines usually target cells that quickly divide. However, normal cells — including those found in the blood, hair, and the lining of the gastrointestinal tract — also divide very quickly. That means chemotherapy can also damage or kill these healthy cells. When this occurs, side effects such as nausea, anemia, and hair loss can occur. Some persons who receive chemotherapy also have fatigue, nerve pain, and infection.

Some more symptoms of Breast cancer

Inhibited sexual desire (ISD) refers to a low level of sexual interest. A person with ISD will not start or respond to their partner’s desire for sexual activity.

ISD can be primary (in which the person has never felt much sexual desire or interest), or secondary (in which the person used to feel sexual desire, but no longer does).

ISD can also relate to the partner (the person with ISD is interested in other people, but not his or her partner), or it can be general ( the person with ISD isn’t sexually interested in anyone). In the extreme form of sexual aversion, the person not only lacks sexual desire, but may find sex repulsive.

Sometimes, the sexual desire is not inhibited. The two partners have different sexual interest levels, even though both of their interest levels are within the normal range.

Someone can claim that his or her partner has ISD, when in fact they have overactive sexual desire and are very demanding sexually.

Dimpling Of Surface Of Breast

Enlarged Lymph Nodes, Armpit

Nipple Discharge -The likelihood of nipple discharge increases with age and number of pregnancies.

While a milky nipple discharge is rare in men and in women who have never been pregnant, it does occur. When it does, it is likely to be caused by some underlying disease, particularly when accompanied by other changes in the breast(s).

It is relatively common in women who have had at least one pregnancy. A thin yellowish or milky discharge (colostrum) is normal in the final weeks of pregnancy.

The nature of the discharge can range in color, consistency, composition, and may occur on one side or both sides.

“Witch’s milk” is a term used to describe nipple discharge in a newborn. The discharge is a temporary response to the increased levels of maternal hormones. Witch’s milk should disappear within 2 weeks as hormone levels dissipate in the newborn.

Other nipple discharges can be bloody or purulent (containing pus), depending on the cause.

Orange Peel Texture To Breast

Few symptoms of Breast Cancer

BREAST LUMP

Breast lumps may appear at all ages:

• Infants may have breast lumps related to estrogen from the mother. The lump generally goes away on its own as the estrogen clears from the baby’s body. It can happen to boys and girls.
• Young girls often develop “breast buds” that appear just before the beginning of puberty. These bumps may be tender. They are common around age 9, but may happen as early as age 6.
• Teenage boys may develop breast enlargement and lumps because of hormonal changes in mid-puberty. Although this may distress the teen, the lumps or enlargement generally go away on their own over a period of months.
• Breast lumps in an adult woman raises concern for breast cancer even though most lumps turn out to be not cancerous.

BREAST PAIN

There are many possible causes for breast pain. For example, hormone level changes related to menstruation or pregnancy are often responsible for breast tenderness. Some degree of swelling and tenderness is just before your period is normal.

Although many women with pain in one or both breasts may fear breast cancer, breast pain is NOT a common symptom of cancer.

Boys and men have breast tissue. If a male has breast tissue that can be seen, the condition is called gynecomastia. As a normal part of development, adolescent boys can have some breast swelling and tenderness. Like breast tenderness in women, this is due to hormonal changes.

BREAST TENDERNESS

There are many possible causes for breast pain. For example, hormone level changes related to menstruation or pregnancy are often responsible for breast tenderness. Some degree of swelling and tenderness is just before your period is normal.

Although many women with pain in one or both breasts may fear breast cancer, breast pain is NOT a common symptom of cancer.

Boys and men have breast tissue. If a male has breast tissue that can be seen, the condition is called gynecomastia. As a normal part of development, adolescent boys can have some breast swelling and tenderness. Like breast tenderness in women, this is due to hormonal changes.

Retraction Of Nipple

Ulceration Of Breast

Unilateral Breast Enlargement

Breast Cancer : A women`s worry

“Cancer“, the word when heard itself creates fear in one`s mind. Taking Breast Cancer here it does not mean that the life has come to an end. We see many people who survived after  suffering from “breast Cancer” due to the advancement of the treatments , technology and the drug therapy.Cancers are abnormal cells in the body which grow uncontrollably. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, although men get breast cancer too.

There are many risk factors for breast cancer. It is now recommended that women in high risk groups have an MRI scan along with their annual mammogram. No matter what your risk of getting cancer, today we are armed with tremendous knowledge about how to  prevent breast cancer.

Breast cancer is that type of Cancer that begins in the breast. It is one of the most common types of cancer in American women. Doctors do not yet know what causes breast cancer. Once breast cancer occurs, cancer cells can spread to other parts of your body, making it life-threatening. Doctor can use a biopsy to tell if you have breast cancer and to predict how fast it may grow, called the grade of the cancer. But it’s likely you’ll need other tests to learn about how far the cancer has progressed, called the stage of the cancer.