Breast Clinic

The breast consists of the mammary glands and the ducts that carry the milk produced here to the nipple. As a result of the uncontrolled proliferation of cells forming these mammary glands and ducts, a malignant mass (tumor) is formed and this is called as breast cancer.

Breast cancer, which is one of the most important health problems of our age, is the most common type of cancer in women in our country as in the rest of the world.

Breast cancer, which ranks second in cancer-related deaths after lung cancer, is at risk in 1 of 8 women during their lifetime. Breast cancer is the most common (32%) type of cancer in women.

It is estimated that breast cancer, which affects 2.1 million women in the world every year, caused the loss of life of nearly 650 thousand women in 2018.

Breast cancer is a type of cancer that occurs especially in women and develops with uncontrolled proliferation and growth of breast cells. With increasing age, the risk of breast cancer increases, and the disease mostly occurs after the age of 40.

This disease can occur not only among women, but also in men, even if at a very low rate. This rate remains low due to the small breast tissue in men.

What are its symptoms?

The most obvious of the symptoms related to breast cancer is the detection of a mass during manual control of the breast. However, this can also be revealed by radiological imaging methods.

However, not every mass detected in the breast is cancer. Therefore, this mass needs to be well studied. Because there are benign and malignant cysts formed in the breast.

In the advanced stages of breast cancer, there may be symptoms such as determining the mass, changes in breast tissue, and an increase in the number of reddened veins of the skin, swelling or thickening of the breast or armpits, depression or ingestion in the nipple, orange peel appearance on the breast skin, changes in the shape or position of the nipple, wounds that do not heal on the nipple, and bloody discharge from the breast.

A monthly breast self-examination after the age of 18, a physician check-up once a year between the ages of 18-40, a physician check-up every year over the age of 40 and early detection with a breast film are possible.

Who is in the Risk Group for Breast Cancer?

Environmental factors for women, decreased physical activity, advanced age factors, those with a family history of breast cancer, unhealthy diet (obesity-fatty diet), exposure to overdose of radiation, hormone therapy for more than 8-10 years, alcohol-cigarette use are included in the risk group. The rate of breast cancer is 2-3 times higher in women who are included in this category as compared to other women. They need to have their check-ups made more often.

Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer Saves Life

When symptoms of breast cancer are suspected, action should be taken quickly. When the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage (first stage), the success rate of breast cancer treatment is over 95%. Therefore, one of the most important factors in breast cancer is early diagnosis.

If breast cancer is detected at an early stage and appropriate treatment methods are maintained, the chance of success increases as well.

With early diagnosis and advancing technologies, many women are now able to beat breast cancer with ease. Women's self-examinations for early diagnosis and mammography after the age of 40 are among the most important points in the fight against this disease.

Routine check-ups for early detection of breast cancer should never be neglected. After the age of 20, every woman should make a breast self-examination after menstruation. Women should consult a physician if they notice the slightest abnormality. However, after the age of 40, self-examination may be inadequate. For this reason, it is necessary to have mammography at regular intervals.

Because the disease can be reached early with mammography for screening purposes. In this way, the tumor is identified at an early stage and the patient's chance of treatment increases.

However, a study published in the USA on April 9, 2019 revealed that some dietary supplements have shown positive results in breast cancer treatments. At this point, it is extremely important to discuss with the physician about appropriate supplements.

3D Digital Mammography (Tomosynthesis)

With the developing technology, 3D digital mammography (Tomosynthesis), which is the most effective diagnostic method used worldwide in breast tumors, offers an effective solution in the diagnosis of even very small tumors, increasing the success of early detection of the tumor.

While 2D, that is, two-dimensional imaging method was used in mammography performed before tomosynthesis technology, this method made mass evaluations difficult due to the overlapping images and the inability to obtain details.

However, with Tomosynthesis Mammography technology, it is ensured that the breast tissue is displayed in three-dimensional (3D) and thus, tissue overlapping is prevented and possible tumors are detected successfully.

Tomosynthesis Mammography, which is the latest technology in breast imaging, is 3D images of the breast compressed between two plates obtained by using X-ray. Unlike classical mammography, the image is obtained digitally and in high resolution, not on film.

Tomosynthesis, which provides low-dose X-ray and cross-sectional imaging of the breast, allows a large number of images to be obtained from different angles during breast scanning.

Thanks to this technology, where data can be observed quickly and effectively by using artificial intelligence, the possibility of calling the patient for mammography again is eliminated as extremely clear and successful results can be obtained.

In addition, this technology reduces the pain of the patient by providing less compression of the breast during the procedure as compared to the standard methods.

In this technology, which has a short review order, digital images can be stored and transferred digitally, while magnifications and changes can also be made on the image.

Tomosynthesis 3D digital mammography technology has started to be used for the first time at NEV Esentepe Hospital in Bursa.