October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast cancer affects 55,000 women every year in the UK and 7.8m worldwide over the past five years, with 2.3m women being diagnosed in 2020 alone. Men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer. They make up 0.5-1% of breast cancer patients.
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world, and while it’s more common in women over 50, anyone above puberty age can get it.
Breast cancer awareness is about knowing the sign and symptoms so that it can be caught early. It’s believed that the earlier the diagnosis, the better the prognosis.
The signs and symptoms of breast cancer are:
- A lump on breast
- Thickening of skin or tissue of the breast
- Dimpling of the skin
- Swelling in either armpit
- A change in shape or size of the breast
- An inverted nipple (where it’s turned in)
- A rash on the nipple (similar to eczema)
- Discharge or bleeding
- Pain in either breast that is consistent and does not go away
If you spot any of these signs or symptoms, please take action and get a checkup!
– purplexedscience
Further reading/references:
purplexed science 