How does breast cancer start?
One of the most commonly asked questions by people when diagnosed with breast cancer is ‘when did it begin?’ Doctors cannot tell for sure when cancer started. However, they can observe the subtle type of breast cancer to understand if it was weeks or months before.
Most times, cancer has been present for five years before it was diagnosed. The exact time it takes for breast cancer to grow from a single cancer cell to a cancerous tumor is unknown.
The chances of getting cured of breast cancer increase if it is detected early. This is why women are advised to examine themselves regularly and go for mammograms [1]. Ways to detect breast cancer include:
Breast examination
The major aim of breast examination is to palpate lumps in the breast. The size at which these lumps are felt varies, but it is easier to feel them yourself than a doctor. You know your breast better than anybody, so it is easy to know when something is abnormal.
When palpated by a doctor:
- Breast lumps of 0.5 to 1.0 cm (half an inch or less) can be felt by an experienced medical doctor.
- When the lump is 1.0 to 1.5 cm, it is observed 60 percent of the time
It is different when women do self-examinations:
- Women that don’t do breast self-exams notice the lumps when it is as big as 2.62cm
- Women that perform self-examinations regularly detect the lumps at 1cm
Self-examination is the fastest way to detect lumps early. The lumps are found when they are still small, so it can be treated before it spreads to other parts of the body.