Breast Cancer Screening: Importance and Methods

Breast cancer is a significant threat to women. A report says that every 14 seconds, one woman is affected with breast cancer worldwide. In most cases, it comes without any symptoms or signs. Therefore, screening is the only way to detect such diseases. After all, hardly any woman wants to reshape her body.

What is Breast Cancer Screening?

Breast cancer screening is a diagnosis process where lab technicians and doctors screen a woman’s breast for lumps or tumors. There are certainly some benefits and risks of such tests which you need to know.

Although such tests cannot prevent breast cancer, it helps you to detect cancer early. Therefore, you get the chance for treatment regarding the disease. Breast cancer screening involves various methods like mammograms, magnetic tests, and many more. Let’s take a glance at what is the screening test for breast cancer.

Most Common Breast Cancer Screening Tests

Today’s medical science has reached such a sky-height that you can get the signs of an acute disease within a couple of hours. However, you must be careful about the essentiality of which type of test you want.

Mammogram

A mammogram is a renowned and popular breast cancer test among people. It is an X-ray of the breast. You can rely upon it undoubtedly if your health consultant advises you to take a breast cancer test from Apollo Hospitals. You can get the symptoms and results from breast cancer screening tests in the early stage. The regularity of the mammogram method can low down the risk of breast cancer in your body. However, you may face some painful experiences while doing the test. However, the pain would go away soon. You must try not to have such tests during your period as the breasts may be tender or swollen then.

Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging

You often hear about the brain or spine MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging) test in critical health conditions. Such tests are done to detect any organic disorder and keenly observe the concerned body part. There also is a facility for breast MRI to detect the stage of cancer early. Breast MRI uses magnets and radio waves to snap an image of your breast. However, it is one of the last breast cancer screening tests you need when you have a high risk of breast cancer. Doctors prescribe breast MRIs with mammograms.

 

Other screening tests

Apart from the above-mentioned breast cancer screening, there are a few more methods to detect your breast cancer primarily. So, let’s check out the methods

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy includes the use of drugs to kill the cancer cells and stops further division or growth of the cancer cells.

Breast Exam

Pathological tests are often helpful in detecting breast cancer in its early stage. There is a misconception that only a woman’s family history can cause breast cancer. However, the male breast cancer of a family member may be highly responsible for such a crisis. Therefore, your consultant may advise you for BRCA screening to detect it in the primary step. The BRCA test is a blood test that determines the changes in your DNA that increase the risk of breast cancer. Changes (mutations) in your breast cancer gene, brca1 or brca2, signal the increasing risk of breast cancer in your body. However, doctors usually do not recommend such breast cancer tests for those who are below 18 years.

Thermography

One of the most popular breast cancer screening tests is thermography, also known as thermal imaging. However unlike a mammogram, it is not so effective in present times. Thermography uses an infrared camera to measure the temperature of the breast’s surface layer. During the test, your body need not touch any machine. The image depicts red spots for affected tissues in the given image. This breast cancer screening works appropriately as a test of physiology and function.

Tissue sampling

Collecting tissues from the breast area and examining them is another way to detect breast cancer in you. In such breast cancer screening methods, doctors clean your breast area and use local anaesthetic injections to numb the portion. After that, they cut very little and put a hollow needle to collect the tissue sample from your breast. The process is also known as a breast biopsy. There are three kinds of breast biopsies: Core Needle biopsy, Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, and open (surgical) biopsy. However, most doctors recommend having the Core needle biopsy for the best result from a breast biopsy test.

Harms of Breast Cancer Screening

Although modern medical science and technology have improved massively, some risks are simultaneously growing for human beings. If you think breast cancer screening tests do not harm your body, you might think wrong. Firstly, you need to understand what the screening test for breasts is. Is it simply a blood test? Unfortunately, it’s not. You have to tolerate the powerful rays during the procedure. Those rays can harm the other lively tissues of other body parts.

Sometimes the tests include fake positive results, which can lead your doctor to a wrong diagnosis. As a result, you may have to do more tests. These can be expensive, time-consuming, and may cause anxiety in your mind.

You might get caught in the overtreatment process. It is a stage where a patient has gone through several pathological tests but hardly finds the solution to cancer. Although the radiation amount in mammograms or such tests is small, the repeated process of X-rays may affect your overall body health. A mammogram even leads to false negative test results sometimes.

 

Conclusion of Breast Cancer Screening Tests

Although such screening tests can not cure cancer in your breast, they can help you to detect at an early stage. If you consult your doctor about your breast problems, he can first assist you with a BRCA test for breast cancer, which is much safer. Above all, it depends on which breast cancer screening test fits your body.