Nowadays the number of women with various diseases of mammary glands steadily increases. About 90 % all diseases of mammary glands makes fibrocystic disease, or mastopathy; mammary gland cancer makes 5-10 % . Mastopathy is often combined with various gynecologic pathology, diseases of thyroid gland, hypophysis, liver, etc.
RISK FACTORS
Risk factors of mammary glands pathology are: early and frequent abortions; refusal of breast feeding or a short period of lactation; early beginning menstruation (under 12 years of age ) and late climax (after 55 years of age ); gynecologic diseases accompanied with disorder of ovaries function; disorder of hormonal background caused by diseases of thyroid gland, hypophysis, adrenal glands, uncontrolled taking of contraceptive preparations, excessive weight; long nervous shock or long mental stress which can cause changing of secretory function of endocrine system; late first pregnancy and the first childbirth after 30 years of age, late childbirth after 40 years of age, absence of pregnancy and childbirth in anamnesis, etc.
SELF-EXAMINATION
For successful treatment of mastopathy and mammary gland cancer these diseases must be diagnosed at the early stage. In most cases pathology is revealed by the woman herself. That’s why regular self-examination of mammary glands helps to reveal pathology at early stages and to begin treatment in time. Mammary glands must be examined on the 7th-10th day from the beginning of menstruation, and in menopause it can be examined on the first day of each month.
MAMMARY GLANDS ARE EXAMINED IN RECUMBENT OR ERECT POSITION.
1. Standing before the mirror, examine your mammary glands. First put your hands on the hips, then couple them behind the head, turn your body to the right and to the left. Pay attention to symmetry of mammary glands, some retractions of the skin or the nipple, its puffiness. Press the nipples cautiously, look, if there are some discharges from them.
2. Raise your left arm and palpate your left mammary gland carefully with three close fingers ( the 2nd, 3rd and 4th) of your right hand. Move the fingers rotating, slightly pressing, beginning from the axillary area in the direction of the nipple. Then examine your right mammary gland in the same order.
3. After finishing the examination in erect position, continue it in recumbent position. Throw your left arm behind your head, put a small pillow under your left scapula and check up your left mammary gland. Then do the same actions, having thrown your right arm behind the head and examine your right mammary gland. Palpating the mammary gland pay attention to any changes in its tissue. Palpate your axillary areas to look if your lymph nodes are enlarged. If you notice any changes you should immediately go to the doctor-mammolist.
Besides this self-examination for early diagnostics of mammary glands diseases you should visit the specialist (the mammologist or the gynecologist) once a year. Women at the age of 35 and over must undergo mammography once in 2 years, and women at the age of 50 and elder – once a year.
TREATMENT.
Treatment of mastopathy can be both conservative, and surgical (in cases of nodal forms of mastopathy, with obligatory carrying out of histologic examination to exclude cancer). Diffusive forms can be treated conservatively with use of fortifying agents, vitamins, herbal medicine and hormonal preparations. Considering the question of replaceable hormonal therapy in women in menopause and after surgical removal of ovaries a number of factors is taken into account: the patient should have strict indications for hormonal treatments, a type and a dose of preparations should be individualized, use of low doses of hormonal preparations is desirable. Preference is given to not oral introduction (a plaster, gel). In cases when during taking of hormonal medicines acute painfulness of mammary glands appears, change of medicine or refusal from hormonal therapy is recommended. The parity advantage/risk of hormonal therapy should be estimated separately in each concrete case (as replaceable hormonal therapy raises risk of development of thrombophlebitis, can influence on liver function and increase risk of development of cancer of a mammary gland at the chronic digestion, more than five years).
Considering a various clinical picture of benign diseases and mammary gland cancer, don’t try self-treatment, visit the doctor will diagnose your disease accurately and prescribe proper treatment