Breast health education

There is no universal "standard answer" for breast health management. The core principle is "no anxiety, no negligence, and personalization" - you don't need to be overly nervous about a certain "taboo" mentioned on the Internet, and you can't just ignore it because you are young. All self-examinations, screenings, and dietary adjustments must be combined with your own risk level. There is never a saying that "if you follow this, you will be 100% free from disease."

Last week I picked up a 27-year-old girl at the breast clinic. She had red circles under her eyes when she walked in. She said that she had seen a short video saying, "If you feel a lump on your chest, it means breast cancer." I prescribed a color ultrasound for her, and the result was ordinary breast hyperplasia during menstrual period. She didn’t even need to prescribe medicine. It would disappear naturally after her aunt passed away. I encounter more than a dozen cases like this every month, most of which are caused by the fragmented popular science on the Internet.

When it comes to self-examination, in fact, there is no completely unified statement in the academic community. A few years ago, the American Cancer Society canceled the recommendation for routine self-examination for ordinary risk groups. The reason is that many people do not have the ability to make professional judgments and are prone to anxiety when they feel normal glands or hyperplasia, which increases the probability of unnecessary biopsies. However, most of our domestic clinicians still recommend that everyone learn basic self-examination techniques. This does not mean that self-examination can detect cancer. Too many people do not have the habit of regular physical examinations. Touching your aunt every 7-10 days after she leaves can at least pay more attention to your physical condition. Abnormal lumps and bloody discharge can be discovered early. It is better than coming to the hospital after the pain is unbearable.

Of course, don’t regard self-examination as the only means. If you really want to check for risks, you still have to rely on formal screening. I have seen too many people think, "If there is nothing wrong with my self-examination, I don't need to do a check-up." When the nodules grow until they are visible on the skin and bulge, it has been delayed to the point where they need to be completely removed. However, the more expensive the screening, the better, and the more frequent the better. For example, many girls in their early 20s ask for mammography as soon as they come, which is really unnecessary. Most young girls have dense breasts that cannot be penetrated by a mammography target, and the examination is in vain. For ordinary risk groups, a breast ultrasound once a year after the age of 25 is enough, and after the age of 40, combined mammography screening is added. But if any of your immediate family members got breast cancer before the age of 40, then you are in a high-risk group and you have to start annual MRI screening as early as around the age of 30. This really cannot be omitted.

The most frequently asked questions backstage are about diet and clothing. Things like "drinking soy milk will cause breast cancer" and "wearing underwire bras will cause cancer" are really old rumors that have been circulating for almost ten years. The soy isoflavones in soy milk are phytoestrogens, which are not the same thing as human estrogen. It is perfectly fine for ordinary people to drink one or two cups a day. Some studies even show that long-term consumption of soy products can reduce the risk of breast disease. Of course, if you already have estrogen-dependent breast disease, such as diagnosed with atypical hyperplasia, your doctor may advise you to avoid high-estrogen foods of animal origin such as royal jelly and snow clams. This depends on the situation and cannot be generalized. As for underwire bras, there is currently no evidence-based medical evidence that they can directly cause breast cancer. However, if you wear a tight-fitting skirt and wear a shaping bra every day, it will strangle the lymphatic flow and aggravate the pain during menstruation. Comfort is the most important thing.

Oh, by the way, don't believe the so-called "breast massage" in beauty salons. Those who say it can rub away hyperplasia and rub away nodules are all IQ taxes. I just admitted a patient last month. It was originally a benign small nodule of Category 3. Regular review is enough. I had to go to a beauty salon to apply for a massage card worth tens of thousands. It hurt so bad for half a month to check. The masseur massaged the surrounding tissue until it became edematous. Even the imaging could not clearly see the benign and malignant. In the end, I had to do a biopsy first, and I got a knife for nothing. I suffered the same sin.

My biggest feeling after being in the clinic for so many years is that breasts are really a barometer of emotions. Many people say that the pain before their period is so painful that they can't even wear underwear. If you ask about it recently, they either stay up late and work overtime every day, or they just had a quarrel with their family members, and their endocrine disorders will naturally give you a signal. There was a girl who was preparing for the civil service exam. She stayed up until 2 a.m. every day for three months. She was so painful that it was difficult to lift her arms. After the exam, she adjusted her schedule for two weeks. She went for a half-hour walk in the park every night without taking any medicine. After a follow-up check-up, everything was fine.

After all, breast health really doesn’t have so many rules and regulations. Don’t scare yourself by comparing yourself with popular science on the Internet every day, and don’t skip physical examinations for several years just because you are young. Just treat it as a part of your body, pay more attention to its small changes, and less add unnecessary anxiety to yourself. That’s enough.