IF ONLY WOMEN PAID ATTENTION TO THEIR BREAST AS MUCH AS MEN DO...

Many women misinterpret the statistics that says 1 in 8 women will develope invasive breast cancer to mean that, on any given day, they and the women they know have a 1-in-8 risk of developing the disease. That’s simply not true.

Cancer occurs as a result of mutations, or abnormal changes, in the genes responsible for regulating the growth of cells and keeping them healthy. These genes are present in each cell’s nucleus, which acts as the “control room” of the cells. Normally, the cells in our bodies replace themselves through an orderly process of cell growth whereby healthy new cells take over as the old ones die out although over time, mutations can “turn on” certain genes and “turn off” others in a cell. That changed cell gains the ability to keep dividing without control or order, producing more cells just like it and forming a tumor.

A tumor can be benign (not dangerous to health) or malignant (has the potential to be dangerous). Benign tumors are not considered cancerous: their cells are close to normal in appearance, they grow slowly, and they do not invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors are cancerous. If left unchecked, they can eventually spread beyond the original tumor to other parts of the body.

Breast cancer refers to an uncontrolled growth of breast cell or the malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. 

Initially, breast cancer might not cause any symptoms, In some cases however, it does and any of these 'according to the American Cancer Society', are the unusual changes in the breast that can likely be a symptom of breast cancer:

• a lump
• a dimple in the breast
• an area of thickening
• breast swelling and redness
• an enlarged underarm lymph node

These changes also can be signs of less serious conditions that are not cancerous, such as an infection or a cyst. It’s important to get any breast changes checked out promptly by a doctor.

To conclude, breast cancer is a serious and a very dangerious disease that any and every woman should look out for and fight against, even though studies have found that women have a 12% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer, your individual risk may be higher or lower than that. Individual risk is affected by many different factors, such as family history, reproductive history, lifestyle, environment, and others so think healthy because ignorance is not an excuse.

Thanks to EMUPSS for their services to humanity in creating a breast cancer awareness and for their strive and ride against breast cancer on the 31st of October 2014, it was a really big time motivation for this post...