AoA All,
I work in Radiation Oncology (i’m not a doctor), and breast cancer would have to be one of the most common type of cancer in women (yes, men can get it too)… this goes both for Australia & Pakistan… so i thought i’d spread some awareness with you guys…
The thing is; if caught early, breast cancer can be a relatively easy cancer to treat; early diagnosis is the key, here are some tips in line with that:
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if you are over 40, go and get a Mammogram (xray of breasts) done ASAP, and get one done every couple of years post that (ask the doctor whats best). Note: it takes 7 YEARS for a potential cancer to grow from a microscopic disease to a lump of diameter 1 cm… so u can imagine that there is no chance in accidently observing it before then… this is where mammograms are very effective! they can pick up very tiny diseases.
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examine your breasts both visually and by physical examination. Do this every 2-3 months. Notice if there are any moulds that are changing shape/ size/ texture/ colour at a relatievely fast rate. Also, feel for lumps around the breast area. If, God forbid, you feel something odd, then try and “feel” for the same thing on the other breast (cancers dont grow symmetrically :)). And, no you dont have to be over 40 to take on this particular precaution… Iv’e seen 30 year olds with cancer as well
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DO NOT go to a homopathic doctor (cancer cells cant be killed with herbs!)
Remember, most of the lumps felt in the breast are NON-CANCEROUS (i.e a sist or something else), so no need to freak out! however, it is better to be on the safe side and get it checked out with a doctor… and there can be no excuses for sharam-haya as there are many female doctors out there.
Allah na kare, if someone is found to have breast cancer, then plz dont take it lightly/ give other things priority over it (i know this sounds obvious, but apparently to some ppl its not!). Get it treated ASAP. If it is confined within the breasts, then treatment is relatively easy, however, our lymphatic system drains out of the breasts and guess where it goes to… the head, neck and lungs. I am not trying to freak ppl out here, just awareness so that these matters aren’t taken lightly.
Here are two contrary examples; I’ll start with the bad.
BAD: a lady developed breast cancer, didn’t do anything about it bcoz of the sharam issue, then when things got bad, she started homopathy!!!, things got worse, and someone finally got her to go to a radiation oncologists. The doctor prescribed immediate surgery, followed by radiation therapy. Well she did all that, and half way through the radiation therapy, she felt better so left it!!! (the reasons why u r meant to get radiation therapy is so that any microscopic disease that may have been left behind from the surgery is taken care of). Khair, the cancer reoccurred, but by now, it was beyond hope… her breast LITERALLY swell to a size of a small watermellon, started growing fungus on it, had blood peeping out, and somehow, started developed a colony of worms on it, Astaghfiruallah!!!
GOOD: She developed a small lump, found it was cancer, had it sugucally removed, followed by some chemotherapy… and Alhumdilillah the cancer is GONE, and she is leading a healthy, normal life.
Again, i dont mean to scare anyone, i just want my sisters here to be aware of disease which is diagnosed early, can be treated successfully inshallah.
May Allah protect us from such bemarrian, Amin.
Wassalam
