Let's Talk about Breasts

Being detected with Breast Cancer at 30 can leave you pretty perplexed. I kept asking my doctors and technicians if they see many people of my age. They said they are noticing an ever increasing incidence of young girls with carcinogenic lumps. I asked them if they know the reason for such a surge. Some said that if they knew, they’d have done something about it; most looked helpless though. Unanswered questions are like shadows, they may not be seen sometimes but they never leave your side. Every now and then my mind does wander to a possible cause of the disease. 

I hope to get to my answers sooner or later, but for now I want write about how we can keep a keen eye on our own precious little boobs. 

1. Do not shy away from touching/feeling/fondling thyself. There is really no other way of knowing this. 

2. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, dense breasts are a common phenomenon. Every lump or hardness will not mean something earth shattering. One must be aware of these and keep monitoring them for any changes in hardness/size/location. 

3. Find a good gynaecologist and make friends with her. I feel the disappearance of the ‘family doctor’ in des is the saddest thing to have happened to us in recent times. Since all of us have become so mobile, often we don't have that one person who knows our bodies, our ailments and our quirks. Spend some time in finding a gynaecologist that you feel comfortable with. Don't just rely on people's recommendations. Meet them and if you still feel unsure keep the search on. My constant shifting cities/countries in the last 7-8 years never allowed me the luxury of a doctor that I went consistently too. I think it could’ve helped because my doctor would’ve known my history with fibroadenoma and may have insisted on regular breast examinations. 

4. Keep your reports safely. I guess the best way is to scan it and email it to yourself. These days most diagnostics send an e-copy of the report. Make a folder of your medical records and store your reports. Monitoring lumps and nodes is all about having a reference. How many? Have they grown in size? Have they appeared someplace else? Is there a textural difference in what you felt earlier and now? All this may sound scary, but I think once you are aware of your own internal geography, it will give you more peace than any medical report will.

5, Watch out for any discharge from the nipples. That was one question I was asked by all my doctors. If there is some discharge oozing out of your breast, talk to your gynaec about it. Doctors are not generally too concerned with the kind of discharge that happens when you press the nipple.

6. Avoid getting all your answers from Google. It has become a common practice amongst us to search for our symptoms online and read about it. If it was that simple, wouldn’t we all be doctors? Based on the kind of person you are, you will either freak out or feel it's nothing. Do speak to an expert about your concerns. Don't fret thinking your queries are stupid or you would be wasting your doctor's time.

7. Lastly, there is really nothing to freak about. There are far far greater chances of it being nothing than it being anything. So rejoice in knowing and being observant.

Till we meet next.

A!