(4) changes in nipple
If abnormal changes of the nipple with breast cancer, usually presents nipple erosion or nipple retraction.
1 nipple erosion: There is a typical expression of breast Paget’s disease, often accompanied by itching, about 2 / 3 of patients may be associated with other parts of the areola or breast lumps. Start, only the nipple or nipple desquamation of small fissures. Scaling often accompanied by a small amount of nipple discharge and form scabs, thrown off crusts visible red erosion surface, prolonged unhealed. When the whole nipple involvement, may enter an invasion and the surrounding tissue, as the lesions progress, the nipple can be gained from the entire disappear. May also occur in some patients the first breast lumps, nipple lesions subsequently appeared.
2 nipple retraction: When the tumor invaded zone under the nipple or areola, breast, fibrous tissue and the duct system can be shortened, pulling the nipple to depression, bias, or even shrink back into the areola. At this point, the affected side than the contralateral nipple often higher. May appear in early breast cancer, but sometimes it is also a late signs, depending on the growth of tumor site. When the tumor near the nipple or under the early days can occur; When the tumor is located in the deep breast tissue away from the nipple, when far, there is usually at an advanced stage of this signs. Of course, nipple retraction, depression, not all malignant lesions, partially caused by congenital dysplasia or chronic inflammation caused by this time, nipple finger pull-out, non-fixed.
(5) skin changes
Changes in the skin caused by breast cancer, and tumor location, depth and violations related to the degree, usually have the following performance:
1 the skin adhesion: two shades of breast fascia is located between the superficial fascia and skin connected to the shallow and deep attached to the pectoralis superficial. Superficial fascia in the formation of lobular breast tissue within the interval, that is, suspensory ligament of the breast. When the tumor invasion and these ligaments, the make of the contraction, shorter, pulling the skin form a depression, shaped like a dimple, so called “dimple sign.” When the tumor is small, can cause a very slight skin adhesion, not easily detectable. At this point, be in better lighting conditions, light-care suffering from milk, so that surface tension increase, can be seen in the mobile breast cancer over the surface of the skin when a slight stretch, sag and so on. If such symptoms should be alert to possible breast cancer, benign tumors rarely have this symptom.
2 the skin superficial varicose veins: the growth of tumors larger or faster, it can make the surface of the skin to become meager, under which superficial blood vessels, often can be varicose veins. In the liquid crystal thermography and infrared scan more clearly, is common in breast giant fibroadenoma and cystosarcoma phyllodes. In the acute inflammation phase, pregnancy, lactation is also often superficial varicose veins of the tumor.
3 skin redness: acute and chronic mastitis, the mammary gland may have redness and swelling of skin. However, in breast cancer, mainly seen in inflammatory breast cancer. Because of its subcutaneous lymphatic vessels are all occupied embolus can cause cancer, lymphangitis, skin color pink to dark red at this time, began to become more limited, and soon extended to most of the breast skin, and at the same time with skin edema, thickening of the skin temperature and so on.
4 skin edema: Because breast subcutaneous lymphatic obstruction by tumor cells or breast tumor cells infiltrating the central areas are, so that breast lymphatic return blocked, the accumulation of lymph within lymphatic vessels, skin thickening, hair follicle population expanded, deep and displays “Orange Leather-like change. ” In obesity, drooping of the breasts away from it under the common mild skin edema, such as bilateral symmetry, takes into account the local circulation disturbance caused by; the case of unilateral, it must carefully guard against possible carcinoma.
In addition, a direct violation of advanced breast cancer can still cause skin ulcers, if complicated with bacterial infections, unpleasant odor. If the infiltration into the skin cells and the growth of the primary lesions in the skin around the formation of hard nodules scattered in that “satellite skin nodules.”
(6) axillary lymph nodes
The progressive development of breast cancer can be invaded lymphatic metastasis to its lymphatic drainage area. Among them, the most common site is the ipsilateral axillary lymph node metastasis in lymph nodes. Lymph nodes often by small and gradually increase the number of lymph nodes by a small gradual increase in the beginning, swollen lymph nodes can promote the final integration with each other and fixed. Swollen lymph nodes, if violated, oppressed axillary vein ipsilateral upper extremity edema can often; such as invasion and shoulder pain caused by brachial plexus nerve. Check the axillary lymph nodes should be relaxed so that limb as far as possible, so that the top can be palpable axillary. Swollen lymph nodes still need to pay attention if touched on the number of lymph nodes, size, texture, surface activity and their situation in order and inflammation, tuberculosis phase identification.
Less than if the breast lump and axillary lymph nodes in order to come to consult a doctor as the first symptom is relatively small, when the axillary lymph nodes, pathology proved to be metastatic cancer, in addition to carefully check the lymphatic drainage outside the region, yet to be excluded lung and digestive tract tumors. If the pathological tips are metastatic adenocarcinoma, pay attention to “occult breast cancer” may be. At this point, many failed to find breast lesions, mammography may help diagnosis. Lymph node-line hormone receptor determination, if positive, even if the examinations have failed to find the breast lesion, still have to consider the source of breast cancer.
May apply to the same side of breast cancer axillary lymph node metastases, but also through the anterior chest wall and internal mammary lymph network traffic with each other to the contralateral axillary lymph node metastasis, the incidence is about 5%. In addition, the advanced breast cancer can still have ipsilateral supraclavicular lymph node metastasis, and even contralateral supraclavicular lymph node metastasis.
These are just pairs of breast cancer, especially breast cancer to make a brief description of the basic symptoms, as long as the majority of women can have stronger anti-cancer awareness, and complete understanding and mastery of such knowledge, and carefully work out self-examination, with the level of health care improvement, I believe that cancer is by no means incurable.
