Breast Cancer Awareness: A guide to staying on top of your health checks

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to empower yourself with knowledge and take proactive steps to protect your health. Regular self-examinations and professional check-ups are key to early detection, significantly improving outcomes.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation recommends performing breast self-exams monthly, two days after your period ends. Nearly 40% of breast cancer cases are detected by women who discover lumps during self-exams. Men are also at risk, with 1%-3% of breast cancers in South Africa occurring in men, as reported by the Breast Health Foundation.

When performing self-exams, familiarise yourself with how your breasts typically look and feel. Changes like nipple tenderness, skin texture variations or lumps should be reported to your doctor. While not all lumps are cancerous, regular monitoring is crucial. Alongside self-checks, women over 45 should have an annual mammogram, while younger women may benefit more from ultrasound assessment, especially if they have dense breast tissue.

Risk factors
Certain risk factors increase the likelihood of developing breast cancer, such as age (most diagnoses occur after 50), family history (especially if a close relative was diagnosed young) and genetic mutations like BRCA1 and BRCA2. Dense breasts and reproductive history, such as early menstruation or late menopause, also raise risks.