• Lump in the breast or armpit.
• Lumpy area or unusual thickening of
tissue that doesn’t go after your period
• Rash or crusting of the nipple or
surrounding area.
• Discharge from one or both nipples.
• Skin texture – puckering or dimpling.
• Swelling under the armpit or around
the collarbone.
• Pain in part of the breast or armpit that
is unrelated to periods.
thirdly, screening mammograms in
women over the age of 40. “Screening
means taking a population (in this
case, women over the age of 40)
with no obvious symptoms of the
disease such as no pain, no lump,
and no nipple discharge and using
various techniques such as clinical
examination, mammograms and so
forth to pick the disease up at an early
and treatable stage,” she explains.
HIGH RISK
PATIENTS
Dr. Kazim says that high-risk women
include those with a family history of
breast or ovarian cancers, especially
if the diagnosis was made in the premenopausal years. Also, women with
a history of certain types of benign
biopsies which are benign but render
the patient at risk in the future.
Women who have received radiation
to their chest for the treatment of
lymphoma or tuberculosis are also
at high risk. “We design a screening
program for these women on an
individual basis depending on their
age and age of family members at the
time of diagnosis,” she says. There
are some women who are at higher
risk of breast cancer than the general
population; these include women with
several close relatives who have had
breast or ovarian cancer.
For high risk women, there are several
options to reduce their risk of getting
the disease. “If it’s in the family, we
may test them for one of the two
breast cancer gene mutations,” says
Dr. Kazim. If they are carrying one
of these mutations, she may advise a
double mastectomy and in some cases
removing the ovaries as well. H
BREST FRIENDS
EARLY DIAGNOSIS
AND TREATMENT
Dr. Kazim explains that the best early
diagnosis for breast cancer nowadays
should be a combination of regular
breast self-examination, an annual
physical check-up by a specialist and
Once detected, management of breast
cancer is individualized for the most
part and is improving rapidly in all
fields. Treatment, she explains, is in
four stages – surgery, chemotherapy,
radiotherapy and hormone therapy
but not every case of breast cancer will
require all these treatment modalities.
Brest Friends meets once a month; for further details, visit www.brestfriends.org
Brest Friends is a doctor-led,
independent not-for-profit
organization for breast cancer
patients and survivors. Dr. Houriya
Kazim, Specialist Breast Surgeon
explains, “When I decided to
start the support group, the only
qualifications that I brought to the
task were the experience of treating
breast cancer patients and my desire
to help others emotionally survive
the experience. I had never set up
or run a support group of any kind
in my life. Our support group is a
place for people in similar situations
to give and receive both emotional
and practical support as well as to
exchange information. Ladies who
attend the group can expect to both
learn more about their cancer and
get new ideas from others who have
‘been there, done that.’
Mar/Apr 2016
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