Pregnant mother has late-stage breast cancer: The doctor clearly indicates the signs and how to check the breast at home

Mother elected to have terminal cancer

Bach Mai Hospital's Center for Nuclear Medicine and Oncology has received pregnant patients and found metastatic cancer.

Ms. Nguyen Thi B. (36 years old, Nam Dinh), who was 24 weeks pregnant, had headaches, dizziness and staggering nausea.

Then the patient was taken to a hospital in Hanoi. The patient received a cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and found a tumor about 3cm large in the cerebellum.

Here the doctors initially diagnosed that brain metastatic cancer is not clear primary damage. Because patients are pregnant, they cannot take X-rays, computed tomography, and diagnosed with Nuclear Medicine to determine the cause because they can affect the fetus.

Ms. B. wishes to have a baby so she is transferred to surgery for brain tumors at Viet Duc Hospital. After surgery, the patient sustains dizziness of headaches, not paralysis. Patients continue to be monitored for maternity in lower level hospitals.

The patient then gave birth to a baby weighing 3.1 kg and began returning to the Tumor Tracing Hospital. The doctor identifies patients with brain metastatic cancer. Patients underwent 7 rounds of chemotherapy and health improvement gradually.

Signs of breast cancer

Associate Professor Tran Van Thuan - Director of the Central K Hospital recommends 7 signs of breast cancer, of which, if there is a phenomenon of bleeding, 80% is likely to have cancer.

According to Assoc. Prof. Tuan to detect this disease early, women should examine their breasts after their menstrual cycle for about 5 days.

Especially 40 years of age and older should go for periodic health check and should be interested in screening for breast cancer screening so that if there is disease, it can be treated promptly and properly.

Signs of breast cancer:

- One breast is thicker than the other

- Dropping nipples

- The skin of the breast area is protruding, irregularly pulled

- Changing color on the skin of the breast

- Outflow of 1 breast fluid (when bleeding occurs, the likelihood of cancer is 80%)

- Pain or redness of the breast

- Hach armpit or sparring pit

Depending on the specific case, the doctor appointed mammograms to allow the detection of breast cancer since the tumor has not yet appeared on a woman's chest - that is, in the pre-clinical stage and of course In such a case, we can completely cure it.

In addition, in the case of women with a family history of breast cancer such as mothers and sisters in the house and when testing for breast cancer genes (specifically BRCA1 and BRCA2), they should go for periodic examination. earlier and even magnetic resonance imaging instead of mammography to detect breast cancer.

How to do breast self-examination with women over 20 years old

Stand or sit in front of a mirror:

Two hands down, observe changes in the breast such as lumps, thickening, concave skin or changing skin color.

Put your hands behind your nape, then look back.

Put your hands on your hips, move your chest muscles up and down with your shoulders up or your shoulders down. This action makes changes if any more clear.

Observe in both frontal and inclined positions.

Touch when standing or sitting

First, put your right hand behind your neck. Using the left hand to touch the right breast, 4 fingers (point, middle, ring, pink) placed close to each other in a plane, evenly pressing on different areas of the mammary gland to the chest wall in the direction of spiral from the beginning breast out.

Check each area of ​​the breast and armpit. Lightly squeeze the nipple to see if the fluid is draining. Then proceed similarly to the left breast.

Touch when lying down

Lie on your back in a comfortable manner, place a thin pillow on the left side of your back and use your hand to examine it as if standing in front of the mirror above. In turn change the party performing the examination on the other breast.

Associate Professor Thuan said that to prevent breast cancer, women should have a reasonable diet, enhance fruits and vegetables, minimize animal fat, combine with exercise to avoid overweight and obesity.

Limiting the use of hormonal substitutes when preparing to enter menopause, because if used for a long time - especially in cases of over 10 years, there is a risk of breast cancer 4-6 times compared to women without such a history.