How to prevent breast cancer according to experts – lifestyle changes, regular screening and body awareness, plus a survivor on how she tapped her own healing power
- During Breast Cancer Awareness month, two specialists describe the best ways to prevent this disease and the importance of early detection
- Hong Kong breast cancer survivor Niru Vishwanath talks about how she helped heal herself and the lessons she’s learned – including how to deal with lymphoedema
Months ago, during a routine mammogram, a mass was detected in my breast.
The word “mass” made me recoil. I hastily resorted to Dr Google to try to decode the mammogram results, which come as gradations of a classification system known as “Birads” – Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System – designed by the American College of Radiologists.
The system’s scale ranges from 0-6, starting with Birads 0 (an incomplete examination that requires further tests), through to 3 (likely benign, but follow-up imaging may be required), to a 4 (suspicious) and finally a 6 – usually given when cancer is already proven by biopsy.
Dr Yau Chun-chung, a specialist in clinical oncology and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation (HKBCF), warns that a mammogram is only part of a complete clinical assessment for suspected breast mass.
A complete breast screening should start with an inquiry of related history, including symptoms, changes of skin and breast contour, changes in the nipple, and also any discharge from the nipple.
That should be followed by a careful examination of the breast, Yau says.