Maithili A Athavale*

Assistant General Manager (R&D), Cancer Biology Lab, (A Unit of Godavari Biorefineries Ltd.), MIDC Mahape, Navi Mumbai, India

*Corresponding Author: Maithili A Athavale, Assistant General Manager (R&D), Cancer Biology Lab, (A Unit of Godavari Biorefineries Ltd.), MIDC Mahape, Navi Mumbai, India.

Received:October 15, 2024;; Published: October 24, 2024

Citation: Maithili A Athavale. “October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month". Acta Scientific Women's Health 6.11 (2024): 01.

October is known as “Pink October” as it is also celebrated as the Breast Cancer awareness month throughout the world.

Breast Cancer is the second most cancer worldwide. It is number one cancer in women. In recent years the incidence rate of this cancer is increased due to unhealthy lifestyle.

Let us understand what is Breast cancer, different stages or types of cancer and the methods to prevent it.

What is breast cancer?

When the cells in the breast grow abnormally i.e. they grow out of control and form a lump or tumor it is called Breast cancer.

What are the different stages or types of breast cancer?

The most early stage of Breast cancer is Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which affects the cells of the milk duct i.e. the cells lining the milk duct become malignant(cancerous) but they stay in place i.e. inside the milk duct .As it is the initial stage of breast cancer it can be cured with appropriate treatment, but when the malignant cells leave the duct and start invading the nearby connective tissue it is called invasive breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma progresses rapidly to form inflammatory breast disease and when the cells spread from breast to other areas of body it is called metastatic breast cancer.

How can one prevent breast cancer?

• Eating a healthy balanced diet with a lot of fruits , vegetables and probiotics and including some form of aerobic exercises is the first step to safeguard yourself from any type of cancer.
• Avoid smoking, drinking and maintain ideal weight.
• It has been shown that breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast & ovarian cancer.
• Get regular mammograms done as early detection can help to treat cancer faster.
• Perform regular breast self-examination consult your Physician for any change in size and shape of breast. Any lump, swelling in breast, armpit, redness or pain in the breast or a nipple discharge is observed.
• If you have a family history of breast cancer, get screening for BRCA1, BRAC2 done.

In short maintaining a healthy lifestyle and following regular screening can help prevent breast cancer.

Copyright: © 2024 Maithili A Athavale. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.